Credit: PA Internet News Service
Pennsylvania State Police are preparing to implement a new regulation to crack down on so-called “ghost guns” in the wake of a new federal rule put in place by President Joe Biden’s administration.
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On Friday, Pennsylvania State Police Commissioner Colonel Robert Evanchick joined Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, to announce the state regulation that will mirror the federal one outside Wellspan York Hospital in York County.
“The new regulation will ensure that partially manufactured frames and receivers require a background check at the point of sale, in addition to requiring dealers and gunsmiths in the commonwealth to serialize and inventory any unregistered firearms that come into their business,” state officials said in a statement.
Ghost guns have been linked to crimes throughout the country and law enforcement have called them a growing threat to public safety.
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT) reported there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations last year.
State police started tracking seizure and recovery of ghost guns from crime scenes in 2021 and recorded 24 seizures and recoveries last year.
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In Philadelphia, police tracked 95 seizures and recoveries in 2019, 250 in 2020, and a startling 571 in 2021.
Troopers said that between state police and Philadelphia numbers, 147 ghost guns have been recovered so far in 2022.
“Violent crime involving firearms is one of our top public safety concerns, and the existence of ghost guns can compound this issue,” said Evanchick. “Ghost guns can make it more difficult to solve violent crimes and hold those responsible accountable.”
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“Because ghost guns lack the serial numbers marked on other firearms, law enforcement has an exceedingly difficult time tracing a ghost gun found at a crime scene back to an individual purchaser,” federal officials said.
Since federal authorities have announce the federal regulation, which takes effect 120 days from April 26, Wolf’s administration has been working with state police to mirror the federal regulation on the state level.
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“The numbers don’t lie: ghost guns are being seized and recovered from crime scenes at an alarming rate,” said Gov. Wolf. “If you want to own a gun, you need to go through checks and balances that are necessary to ensure public safety. Unserialized guns are an untraceable threat to our society, that’s why we’re ready to immediately mirror this new federal regulation at the state level as soon as possible.”
Wolf has previously worked with Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, to put a plan in place to treat 80 percent receivers – the external housing of a gun which can be used to make unserialized ghost guns – as classified firearms in Pennsylvania that require a serial number and background check to purchase.
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