Michigan Attorney General Tells ATF To Crack Down on ‘Ghost Guns’

The Michigan Attorney General has joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general across the country asking the federal government to crack down on alleged 'ghost guns.

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The change proposed would clarify that weapon kits and incomplete weapon parts are covered by the Gun Control Act of 1968. That rule currently requires a federal background check or equivalent on gun purchases, but not necessarily gun parts.

Michigan AG Dana Nessel, and 21 colleagues across the United States, says that the 'ghost guns' are part of a major loophole in the ATFs rules on background checks:

This rule takes a significant step toward remedying a major loophole that remains in the federal regulation of firearms. It remains unconscionable that our current regulations do not require manufacturers of ghost guns to conduct background checks on individuals who make a purchase, nor do they prevent individuals deemed not permitted to obtain guns from doing so. Our federal partners must act to correct this glaring and dangerous contribution to gun violence.

Nessel joined attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin in this comment.

The coalition alleges, “Certain firearm dealers have capitalized on … loopholes [in the existing regulations] to market so-called ‘ghost guns’—meaning weapons kits or partially complete receivers that can easily be converted into unserialized, operable weapons—outside the Gun Control Act’s framework. As dealers highlight in their marketing, these ghost guns are unregulated and can be purchased by anyone.”