Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Sixteen-year-old Angellyh Yambo was walking home from school with two friends when she was killed by a teenager in the Bronx. This senseless shooting is even more disturbing because Yambo was shot with a “ghost gun” — a gun assembled from parts without a serial number.
Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, in announcing Jeremiah Ryan’s sentencing Sept. 15, said Yambo was an innocent bystander when the shooter, in an argument with two men, began firing.
Ghost guns can be assembled using common household tools and acquired without background checks. They are often used by those who cannot legally own a firearm, including minors. Because they have no serial numbers, they cannot be traced to their original buyers.
Recently, law enforcement in Montgomery County, Pa., worked with federal authorities to bring down a ghost gun trafficking organization. An investigation began in May when U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials intercepted a shipment of firearm silencers from China at JFK International Airport in New York.
Rithga Ngoy, 32, of Hatfield Township, Pa., and Michael Phan Nguyen, 32, of Lansdale, Pa., are charged with corrupt organization, conspiracy, illegal firearms sales and other offenses.
While law enforcement officials nationwide grapple with the problem, it is also a complicated legal issue for the Biden administration and state and local lawmakers.
In an attempt to address the issue, the Supreme Court in August ruled 5-4 to reinstate temporarily a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives regulation on ghost guns pending the disposition of an appeal in the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit in the case of VanDerStok v. Garland. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh indicated they would have denied the government’s request.
Fifth Circuit Judge Reed O’Connor determined the administration in 2022 exceeded its authority under the Gun Control Act of 1968, which regulates firearms manufacture and sales. On April 11, 2022, Deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco remarked during a press conference that they are called ghost guns because they cannot be traced.
“For years, criminals have sought out these unmarked guns to murder and maim,” Monaco said. “Attorney General (Merrick) Garland has signed a rule that updates our regulations to keep up with technological changes. Some of the key changes include updating old definitions to ensure that gun laws apply to all firearms — including ghost guns.”
O’Connor argued that “a weapons parts kit is not a firearm.”
Stephen Gutowski, founder of The Reload, said the ATF wants to redefine what counts as a firearm to update the interpretation of the firearm laws.
“They want to have the kits interpreted as actual firearms, and what the public needs to understand is this isn’t a magic button that’s going to fix the problem and keep firearms out of the hands of criminals. You see, a previously convicted felon or someone who has a record of mental illness can’t legally buy a gun anyway. If the government is successful in this updating of firearms laws, then once that person buys a kit, then they’ve already committed a crime.”
Gutowski went on to say current federal firearms regulations don’t keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
“The serialization of firearms allows law enforcement to track ownership of the weapon. But criminals pass guns around, they change hands often, and that’s the thing. How do we keep guns out of their hands? Even if the kits are serialized, it’s not going to be a magic solution to the problem. Serialization doesn’t always work,” he said. “Criminals find ways around the laws.”
Larry Miller is a retired special projects manager for Ceisler Media and Issue Advocacy. He wrote this for InsideSources.com.
