Press Releases

Chester, PA – Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today praised action by the Biden administration following the announcement of additional steps being taken to crack down on ghost guns and ensure the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has the leadership it needs to enforce existing gun laws.

“Ghost guns, untraceable firearms assembled from kits, are fueling crime in my community and communities across the country,” said Rep. Scanlon. “I'm glad to see President Biden build upon his long-standing record of fighting against gun violence with today's announcement of additional steps to rein in the growing threat these unserialized, privately-made firearms pose to our families and children. The new actions he announced respond directly to calls from law enforcement and Americans across the political spectrum to crack down on the proliferation of ghost guns and enforce our existing gun regulations. With new leadership at the helm, ATF is ready to address these pressing issues head-on. But Congress can and must go further. America cannot wait — we must pass meaningful gun reforms at the federal level to reduce the terrible scourge of gun violence in our communities.” 

During a ceremony at the White House today, President Biden and Deputy Attorney General announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has issued a final rule to rein in the proliferation of “ghost guns” — unserialized, privately-made firearms that law enforcement are increasingly recovering at crime scenes in cities across the country. Last year alone, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported to ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations — a ten-fold increase from 2016. 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.

The final rule will:

• Ban the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as unserialized “buy build shoot” kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. 

• Clarify that these kits qualify as “firearms” under the Gun Control Act, and that commercial manufacturers of such kits must therefore become licensed and include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver, and commercial sellers of these kits must become federally licensed and run background checks prior to a sale — just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms.

• Help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms.

The president also announced the nomination of Steve Dettelbach to serve as Director of ATF. Dettelbach is a highly respected former U.S. Attorney and career prosecutor who spent over two decades as a prosecutor at the U.S. Department of Justice. He has received bipartisan praise and support from law enforcement for his work.

Last month, Congresswoman Scanlon led a letter to ATF in response to a sharp decline in federal firearm licenses (FFLs) inspections in 2020 and the extremely low number of revocations or denials of FFLs. Ensuring a proper number of FFL inspections are conducted is one of many steps the new ATF Director can take to enforce existing gun laws. 

Additional information on today’s announcement is available from the White House. 

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