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1 1 (April 8, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govedaj0001 and id is 1 raw text is: C o g e s o a R e s a r c S e r v k 0 April 8, 2021 Privately Made Firearms: A Growing Source of Unmarked, Untraceable Ghost Guns? On April 7, 2021, the White House announced that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has been directed to issue a proposed rule to address ghost guns within 30 days (by May 7, 2021). For many years, privately made firearms did not appear to be a large source of crime guns. In the last decade, however, the commercial availability of parts kits, unfinished firearms frames or receivers, and compact computer numerical control (CNC) milling devices have arguably made building some firearms simpler and less expensive. As privately made firearms have increased in number, it appears that the use of unmarked ghost guns in shooting sprees, shootouts with police, and other crimes has also increased. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has expressed concern about its inability to trace such firearms. Ghost Guns Ghost guns is a term used to refer to firearms encountered by law enforcement that are largely untraceable, because they were assembled, legally or illegally, by someone other than a federally licensed manufacturer and, therefore, were not marked with a serial number and other identifying features on their frames or receivers. In the last decade, the increase of crimes committed with privately made, unmarked ghost guns suggests that persons prohibited from receiving or possessing firearms have increasingly exploited the general availability of unfinished firearms frames and receivers, or blanks, to assemble firearms (which they otherwise may not have been able to purchase lawfully). Others, sometimes with criminal intent, build these firearms so they cannot be traced back to them. Some people also fear that criminals could use 3D-printers and computer-aided design (CAD) files to produce firearm frames or receivers in large quantities, creating a significant source of illegally trafficked, untraceable firearms. Criminals may also be able to use such technology to produce undetectable firearms made of mainly non- metallic parts (plastic/polymer guns), which might pass through metal detectors at security checkpoints undetected. Privately Made Firearms Under the GCA The Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA; 18 U.S.C. §§921 et seq.) requires all persons who are engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms to be federally licensed. These licensees are commonly referred to as federal firearms licensees, or FFLs. However, the GCA does not prohibit a person from making a firearm for his or her own personal use. Nor does it require any form of federal licensure to do so, or require that such firearms be marked with a unique serial number and other maker marks, as is the case for all other firearms imported or manufactured by FFLs under the act. Nonetheless, the GCA sets limits on building a firearm for one's own use. Building a privately made firearm is only permissible if the maker is not prohibited from possessing a firearm under federal or state law; the firearm is not regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (e.g., a machine gun or short-barreled shotgun); and the maker does not build it with intent to sell it. Even so, privately made firearms may be lawfully transferred, as long as the unlicensed maker did not build it with the intent to sell it. The GCA does not impose recordkeeping or background check requirements on such transfers, unless they are interstate transfers to other unlicensed persons, in which case those transfers must go through an FFL in the state where the transferee resides. Firearms Marking and Recordkeeping Under GCA, firearm importers and manufacturers are required to mark (engrave, cast, or stamp) the frame or receiver of any firearms they import and make with a serial number and other markings (e.g., model, caliber, and importer or manufacturer's name, city, state) (18 U.S.C. §923(i) and 27 C.F.R. §478.92). It is a felony for any person to transport, ship, or receive in interstate or foreign commerce, any firearm that has had its serial number removed, obliterated, or altered (18 U.S.C. §922(k)). All FFLs, moreover, are required to maintain records on firearms transactions for at least 20 years and make those records available to ATF under certain circumstances. When an FFL goes out of business, he or she must submit those records to ATF, but those records may only be searched by make, model, and serial number of a firearm, as statutory provisions prohibit a national registry of firearms or owners. By querying these records, ATF can sometimes trace the firearm's chain of commerce from importer/manufacturer to wholesaler/distributor and, from there, to the retailer, and to the first unlicensed, private purchaser of record. Through this process, ATF can sometimes establish at what point a firearm was diverted from legal to illegal channels of commerce, and identify persons engaged in illegal gun trafficking and other crimes. Undetectable Firearms The GCA prohibits the manufacture, importation, transfer, or possession of any firearm that is not detectable to walk- through metal detectors calibrated to detect a security exemplar that resembles a handgun with the same electromagnetic signature as 3.7 ounces of stainless steel. It is notable that nothing in this provision requires that signature be made from an operable part of the firearm. The act also prohibits firearms that include major components (barrels, slides, cylinders, frames, or receivers) that do not generate an accurate image when inspected with x-ray machines commonly used at airports (18 U.S.C. §922(p)). ittps://crsreports.congress.g(

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