The US government will introduce new rules in the coming days to control privately made serialless firearms, which are increasingly turning up at crime scenes, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
The finalization of the so-called “ghost gun” rules comes at a time when the White House and Justice Department are under increasing pressure to address gun deaths and violent crime in the United States.
The White House has also been considering the possibility of appointing Steve Dettelbach, a former Ohio prosecutor, to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the sources said. President Joe Biden was forced to withdraw the nomination of his first candidate, gun control advocate David Chipman, after the nomination stalled for months due to opposition from Republicans and some Senate Democrats.
The standards have been going through the federal regulatory process for almost a year. Gun safety groups and congressional Democrats have been pushing for months for the Justice Department to end the rule, though it’s likely to face strong opposition and litigation from gun advocacy groups.
The exact timing of the announcement has not been determined, the sources said. They were unable to discuss the matter publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The White House declined to comment.
On Sunday, Senate Democratic Chairman Chuck Schumer implored the government to act faster.
“It is high time to root out ghost weapons before proliferation reaches a peak and before more people get hurt or worse,” Schumer said in a statement. “My message is simple: No more waiting for these proposed federal rules.” Ghost weapons are “too easy to build, too difficult to track, and too dangerous to ignore.”
Source: Associated Press