Attorney General Brian Frosh Calls For Tighter Regulations On Ghost Guns
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- The quadruple shooting in Germantown last week that left one dead is just one of the most recent examples of the dangers of ghost guns--weapons that are ordered online as kits and assembled at home. They have no serial number, and background checks are not required to buy one.
"We know that crime is going up and we know that criminals are choosing these guns," Attorney General Brian Frosh said.
Frosh is now joining attorneys general from around the country in calling on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to finalize regulations that would classify ghost guns as firearms.
"I hope that the ATF will take swift action, will adopt regulations that will require these guns to be serialized, and require the people that purchase them to abide by state laws that in turn require people to pass a test that shows they're qualified to own a handgun," Frosh said.
Earlier this year, WJZ anchor Vic Carter sat down with Baltimore City Police Commissioner Michael Harrison to discuss ghost guns in Baltimore.
"In 2020, that 126 was a big jump from '19--that's a 400% increase," Harrison said. "So it's a new phenomenon, starting in '19, that we started seeing, that really jumped to 126."
Frosh said it's not just a problem in Baltimore but across the country as well.
"You can see the trend, criminals are figuring out that these are guns that, number one, they can get, and number two, they can't be traced back to them," Frosh said.
And he hopes the regulations they're calling to the ATF to implement, along with state laws, will help change that trend.
You may be wondering why these kits even exist. There are groups that use these kits as hobbies. AG Frosh said they don't want to make it illegal but said the regulations will make it so these individuals will have to show they are qualified and are legally able to own a gun before they can buy them.
