The Biden administration took action Tuesday to close a “ghost gun” loophole following an August rule issued by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
.
ATF sent an open letter to “all federal firearms licensees” outlining how a number of “partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional” gun kits are now classified as “readily” available weapons, requiring each to carry a serial number and for dealers to run background checks prior to sales.
“Applying the regulatory text of Final Rule 2021-05F, partially complete Polymer80, Lone Wolf, and similar striker-fired semiautomatic pistol frames, including, but not limited to, those sold within parts kits, have reached a stage of manufacture where they ‘may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to a functional frame,'” the letter reads. “This definition of ‘readily’ applies to each and every classification of a partially complete frame or receiver under this Rule, whether sold alone or as part of a kit. Therefore, even without any associated templates, jigs, molds, equipment, tools, instructions, guides, or marketing materials, these partially complete pistol frames are ‘frames’ and also ‘firearms’ as defined in the GCA and its implementing regulations.”
BIDEN’S GHOST GUN BAN GOES INTO EFFECT AFTER JUDGE DENIES INJUNCTION
“Today’s open letter is another important step in implementing the crucial public safety rule regarding privately made firearms or ghost guns,” ATF director Steven Dettelbach added in a statement. “The partially completed pistol frames described in this open letter are readily convertible to functioning firearms under the Gun Control Act. Ghost guns can kill like other firearms if they are in the wrong hands, so they are treated as firearms under the law. This means that they must have serial numbers so that law enforcement can trace if they are used in crimes like other guns, and also that those engaged in the business of selling them must be licensed dealers and run background checks.”
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In passing the August rule, the Biden administration cited more than 45,000 “privately made firearms” recovered by law enforcement in relation to crimes in the preceding five years.
U.S. District Judge for the District of North Dakota Peter D. Welte, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump
, denied a request from Second Amendment advocates to block the Biden administration’s rule from going into effect back in August.
