What makes a gun a gun? New ‘ghost gun’ regulation explained.

Untraceable “ghost guns” – put together like Legos from a kit – are increasingly showing up at crime scenes. Eliminating a legal loophole, a new federal rule now treats these firearm parts like regular guns.

Stepping away from his lectern in the White House Rose Garden, April 11, President Joe Biden walked to a nearby display and picked up two parts of a handgun. 

“It’s not hard to put together,” he said. With a drill, at home, “it doesn’t take very long. Anyone can order it in the mail. Anyone.”

The president was holding two pieces of a “ghost gun,” a firearm manufactured without a serial number. Without a background check and for about $150, Americans can order those parts online as a kit and then put them together like a ballistic Lego set. Mr. Biden’s event at the Rose Garden was an attempt to end that. There, he announced a new rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that will regulate those gun kits like any other gun. Experts say the rule, taking effect this August, will close a huge loophole in existing gun laws. 

Untraceable “ghost guns” – put together like Legos from a kit – are increasingly showing up at crime scenes. Eliminating a legal loophole, a new federal rule now treats these firearm parts like regular guns.