Perspectives: Biden Announces Plan To Regulate 'Ghost Guns'

President Joe Biden on Monday announced that the Department of Justice has finalized a new rule banning the sale of "ghost guns." 

Ghost guns are un-serialized firearms that can be assembled at home by using parts usually sold in a kit. In an attempt to decrease gun violence, federal firearms manufacturers will now be required to add serial numbers to ghost guns. Biden called the rule "basic common sense" during a speech in the Rose Garden, emphasizing that ghost guns are the "weapons of choice for many criminals" and can be assembled in under 30 minutes. The White House estimated that about 20,000 "suspected" ghost guns were reported to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2021, a ten-fold increase from 2016.

Attorney General Merrick Garland argued in an op-ed for USA Today (Lean Left bias) that "there is no way to track" ghost guns since they don't have serial numbers, and called the changes "long overdue." Left-rated voices are more likely to agree with Garland and celebrate the rule. Many right-rated voices see this as an abuse of government power. One National Review (Right bias) writer argued that the regulations won't "have much impact on violent crime" and pointed to other methods to reduce crime like "pro-active policing," while criticizing Democrats who purportedly can't accept "the hard truth that blacks are offending at disproportionately high rates."