Pa. Attorney General wants to exorcise ‘ghost guns’

80 percent assembled, 100 percent deadly?

• Joseph Darius Jaafari
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  Joseph Darius Jaafari was a staff writer for the PA Post. His work covering crime, the military and LGBTQ issues has been featured in The Marshall Project, Rolling Stone Magazine, The Atlantic and The New York Times. He is a graduate of the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, and an award-winning documentary filmmaker who has produced for VICE and The New York Post. He is a native Arizonan and infamous for his love of tacos.

On Monday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued an opinion that would treat “ghost guns” — the term used for DIY firearms often purchased through kits — as regular guns. That wording seems a bit circular, and reading the news about it probably hasn’t helped clarify exactly what ghost guns are or why exactly the attorney general took action.

So, I spoke with fellow staff writer Ed Mahon to learn more. He’s been reporting on the issue for PA Post, and he explained to me what Shapiro’s move means for gun rights groups in the state:

Ed, what exactly is a ghost gun, and why is it now being classified as a regular gun? 

So, at the press conference Monday, the attorney general talked a good bit about the threat from “ghost guns,” which are guns that are self-assembled, don’t have any kind of serial number and are ultimately untraceable. But the key thing to know about the attorney general’s opinion isn’t about ghost guns themselves — but rather the parts and materials used to create the ghost guns. The key part is known as an “80 percent receiver,” and it is essentially the shell of a gun that you can buy and add parts to it in order to make a gun.

So, it’s not a gun?

Not in the sense that it will shoot anything. But Shapiro said the “80 percent” part of the name is misleading. He said the material is often much closer to being turned into a gun than the name suggests. In his legal opinion, he said police should treat these parts as if they are guns because they could be converted into one by someone who has reasonable skills, basic tools, commonly available parts and a reasonable amount of time.

Why is this important? And who does this really affect?

A shooter in California last month used a ghost gun to fatally shoot two students. On Monday, the attorney general said more than 100 ghost guns were confiscated from people in Philly. Those guns were all seized from people, such as convicted felons, who shouldn’t have had a gun in the first place. The opinion matters for people who are trying to buy the gun kits who have a criminal record. Currently, in Pennsylvania you don’t need to pass a background check to get those kits. That might change, although the Pennsylvania State Police still need to provide guidance. The opinion also matters for people who aren’t allowed to possess a gun. Now, Shapiro says if they get caught with a gun kit, they could face criminal charges.

So, for gun control advocates, this is a win. What do others say?

Unsurprisingly, the NRA says the kits shouldn’t be classified as guns because they, by themselves, don’t shoot bullets. The move could also face a court challenge to any new requirements imposed on gun sellers. And for those who may have a criminal background who have an 80 percent receiver, how those people are criminally charged would also be interesting to follow, because they are in possession of something that by itself can’t fire a bullet.

What are your thoughts on the issue? Tell us in our listening post here. — Joseph Darius Jaafari

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