Luigi Mangione, the suspect in the shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, he was carrying a “ghost gun” when he was there They were arrested on Monday (December 9). What is a ghost gun?
Police suspect Mangione’s gun may have been made using a 3D printer. These are homemade weapons that use a combination of different 3D printed parts – metal and plastic – to avoid scrutiny. Such gun kits, which include various parts to be assembled later, were once popular with hobbyists in the US, an icon of American libertarianism. That such a gun can fire a fatal shot shows how advanced technology has become.
Ghost guns have become very popular with criminals because they are untraceable. These guns do not have the serial numbers marked on other guns, because law enforcement has a very difficult time tracing them back to each buyer. These firearms do not require the same level of background checks that may be required for the sale of commercial firearms.
This calls into question the range of use cases for 3D printing, including precision equipment such as firearms.
Are ghost guns a big problem in the US?
Ghost guns, officially known as privately manufactured firearms (PMF), are a growing threat in the US, primarily due to their untraceable nature. In 2022, the US Department of Justice found 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures, marking a 1,300 percent increase from 2016.
Law enforcement agencies in the US found and confiscated nearly 38,000 suspected ghost guns between 2017 and 2021. A total of 19,273 suspected firearms were recovered and traced in 2021, up from 8,504 in 2020, according to the US Bureau of Alcohol’s 2021 report. , Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Are ghost guns legal in the US?
Although gun control remains a controversial issue in the United States, in 2022, President Joe Biden introduced a new law that mandated that ghost guns have the same laws as commercial guns, including serial numbers and background checks. However, this move was challenged in the Supreme Court, and a final decision has not yet been issued in the case.
Proponents of ghost guns say they are for hobbyists. They also argued that people have a right to build such weapons under the Second Amendment, which allows US citizens the right to keep and bear arms.
Another major piece of US gun control legislation, the Gun Control Act of 1968, allows private citizens to build guns for their own use. There are few laws that require it to be registered or traceable as long as it is not sold by the owner.