Report released on California's fight against ghost gun crisis

1

SAN FRANCISCO – California Attorney General Rob Bonta released a groundbreaking report from the California Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Gun Violence Prevention (OGVP) on California’s efforts to combat the ghost gun threat.

These weapons are firearms manufactured by unlicensed individuals from products sold without background checks, serial numbers, sales records, or other safeguards. This report provides new, detailed data analysis of ghost guns recovered in crimes in California, as well as other research, court documents, and narrative sources to document the impact of the ghost gun crisis and California's response.

“This report documents how dangerous the ghost gun industry is and how much harm its no-background-check business model has inflicted on California communities.” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “There is hope. We have made amazing progress in addressing this threat in our state. California is building a model for policymakers in other states and Congress to comprehensively address the ghost gun crisis nationwide. I am committed to supporting efforts to protect Californians from an industry that sells ghost gun products designed to circumvent the law and arm people who have never passed a background check with weapons designed to take lives to destroy, continue to give priority.”

“This important new report shows how California is beginning to change the curve on one of the most alarming aspects of the gun violence epidemic: the proliferation of untraceable ghost guns.” said Mike McLivley, policy director at the GIFFORDS Center for Violence Intervention. “Through a powerful combination of smart legislation, litigation and public advocacy, California is making real progress on this issue and is once again setting an example for the rest of the country when it comes to reducing gun violence.” We thank Attorney General Bonta, Director of the Office of Gun Violence Prevention Ari Freilich and everyone at the California Department of Justice for their hard work on this report and their tireless efforts to protect Californians from all forms of gun violence.”

“This report tells the compelling story of how California recognized the emerging threat of ghost guns and took decisive action to slow the spread of these deadly DIY weapons.” said Krystal LoPilato, senior policy counsel at Everytown for Gun Safety. “It is required reading for any state interested in protecting communities from an industry that seeks to circumvent gun safety laws for financial gain. The data shows great progress, but we know there is still work to be done. We are proud to stand with Attorney General Bonta, California legislators and stakeholders across California as we work together to combat the ghost gun crisis.”

The report describes how California has taken strong action to address the ghost gun crisis through law enforcement actions, litigation against ghost gun companies and federal regulators, local gun safety ordinances, and in 2022 and 2023 by passing the most comprehensive ghost gun reform laws in the country. The number of ghost guns recovered from crimes in the state rose tremendously each year from 2013 to 2021, but then declined 23% between 2021 and 2023. The report highlights California's significant recent progress as a model for policymakers in other states and at the federal level to address the ghost gun crisis nationwide.

While the report documents California's recent progress, it also contains a warning that the ghost gun market is increasingly shifting to background check-skip products and services designed to allow individuals to illegally make ghost guns without a background check or other protections Required are -D printers, CNC (computer numerical control) milling machines and similar machines to produce phantom guns. California has passed nation-leading legislation to begin addressing these threats, including through AB 1089, which went into effect this year. To promote compliance, enforcement, and accountability with these new laws, the report includes a Quick Guide to California's Ghost Gun Laws, which provides a summary of California's civil and criminal laws governing ghost guns and the manufacture of unlicensed firearms.

The report also summarizes the U.S. Department of Justice's litigation efforts against ghost gun companies, as well as the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives' (ATF) litigation defense and actions related to ghost guns. In 2022, the ATF issued a revised federal rule to ensure that some important ghost gun products are subject to federal firearms laws, such as: B. the background check requirements for traders. The DOJ has helped defend this ATF rule in court as it has been instrumental in regulating some ghost gun products at the federal level. At the same time, the DOJ successfully challenged the ATF rule California v. ATF for maintaining loopholes that do not regulate certain other ghost gun products. The US Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the arguments on October 8, 2024 Garland vs. VanDerStok At issue is whether the ATF ghost gun rule is consistent with existing federal law and agency authority. The California Department of Justice joined a coalition of 22 states that called on the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and overturn a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals decision that would leave the ghost gun industry largely unregulated at the federal level. While a national response is critical, California's much broader, codified state ghost gun reforms remain in place regardless of the outcome in this case.

OGVP was launched in 2022 by Attorney General Bonta. The office, dedicated to developing strategies and collaborating with stakeholders across the state to combat the gun violence epidemic, is the first in the country to be established within an attorney general's office. The office has released three additional data and policy reports on the impact of gun violence in California, the intersection of domestic violence and firearms, and the use of California's nine court protection procedures to prevent gun violence. Over the past 30 years, California has reduced the rate of gun violence compared to the rest of the United States; California's gun homicide rate used to be 50% higher than average, but is now 33% lower than the rate in the rest of the United States. If gun death rates in the rest of the United States had matched California's between 2013 and 2022, there would have been nearly 140,000 fewer gun-related deaths nationwide in that decade alone.

A copy of the OGVP report on ghost weapons can be found here.

Previous stories: