NORFOLK, Va. — Tuesday, News 3 got reaction to a decision by the U.S. Supreme Court on so-called “ghost guns,” firearms with no serial numbers, and therefore, cannot be traced.
The court ruled to reinstate regulations on ghost guns, halting a lower court order that barred the government from regulating the firearms.
Rick James, a former Norfolk Police officer and law enforcement professor, believes Tuesday’s move by the court is a step in the right direction.
“Someone can use them, throw them away, and it never be traced back to them,” James said of ghost guns. “It’s actually going to make the general public safer, and it’s going to assist the law enforcement community in investigating crimes, particularly those crimes where they’re using firearms.”
Last year, President Biden introduced new regulations for these firearms that can be made from kits bought online or through 3-D printers.
According to the Associated Press, the rule issued last year changed a firearm's definition under federal law to include unfinished parts for easier tracking.
Those parts must also be licensed and include serial numbers, and manufacturers must run background checks before sales, like with other commercially made firearms.
James told News 3 he has not encountered ghost guns personally in his career but came across instances where suspects tried to scratch off firearm serial numbers.
“What happens there is that the road to finding out who the suspects are stop, because the police officers don’t have those serial numbers to trace a gun or firearm back to the original owner,” he said.
Last year, News 3 talked with Shana Turner, a Hampton Roads mother who lost her son to gun violence.
She's also been raising awareness about concerns over ghost guns with her group Hampton Roads Mothers and Men Against Senseless Killings (HR MASK).
“I just feel like it’s like the devil’s workshop,” Turner said of ghost guns. “To say that you can’t trace it back, that gives evil people the opportunity to do more evil.”
Investigations
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Justice Department officials told the court that local law enforcement agencies seized more than 19,000 ghost guns at crime scenes back in 2021, a more than ten-fold rise in just five years.
The AP also stated last year's rule does not ban folks from buying a kit or any type of firearm.
According to the AP, the Biden administration's regulation will be in effect while it appeals the ruling to a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and potentially the Supreme Court.
News 3 reached out to police departments throughout the Seven Cities that have recovered ghost guns.
A spokesperson for Suffolk Police told News 3 the department collected six ghost guns in 2022 and three so far in 2023.
