Lawmakers look to crack down on so-called untraceable ghost guns

Lawmakers in Albany are calling for a crackdown on so-called untraceable ghost guns.

News 12 Staff

Sep 19, 2019, 6:54 PM

Updated 1,925 days ago

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Lawmakers in Albany are calling for a crackdown on so-called untraceable ghost guns.
The devices are called 80 percent lower receivers and can be purchased on the internet. The kit provides a person with a lower receiver, which is the main portion of a gun, that's 80 percent finished. Then the person just needs to build the rest of the gun.

Experts say building the gun doesn't take much skill since there are directions and YouTube videos people can use.

Some say the problem is that the kits are not considered firearms so there are no serial numbers. Lawmakers now want to require the devices to have serial numbers.

Not everyone thinks having another law will help.

"You can create another law, you can pass another law, but criminals don't abide by laws anyway so it's not going to affect anything," says Andrew Chernoff, of Coliseum Gun Traders.

However, Ellie Musmeci with Long Islanders for Gun Safety says these kits are a public safety issue. She says people shouldn't be able to go online and be able to put a gun together.

There is a bill currently being considered in both the state Assembly and Senate.