Those of us who worry about gun proliferation used to obsess about “the iron pipeline,” a.k.a. I-95, along which weapons were ferried from Southern states where they were easy to purchase to Northern destinations where they could be sold for a very tidy profit.
Now shipping through the iron pipeline is sort of like keeping in touch with all your friends and family by writing lovely letters on your personal stationery and taking them to the post office to buy stamps and put them in the mail. So … 20th century. Today if you want an off-the-records gun, you go online, of course. You order a ghost, which arrives at your home in pieces, ready to be assembled. You can even order a 3-D printer to make one from scratch.
“This is as big a threat as anything I’ve ever seen,” said John Feinblatt, the head of Everytown for Gun Safety. “They’re a dream come true for a prohibited person — a felon. Or an armed extremist. They’re invisible. They’re well made.”
— Gail Collins in ‘They’re Invisible. They’re Well Made.’ They’re Ghost Guns.
