Close NY's ghost gun loophole

With simple instructions available on the internet, it is possible to build a workable AR-15 that is untraceable, with no background check, in a matter of minutes. This is the type of weapon that killed my son, Scott J. Beigel, the teacher who sacrificed his life shielding his students from gunfire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018.

Thanks to low-cost digital milling equipment and 3D printers, coupled with the "unfinished receiver" loophole in our gun laws, a person can buy or sell a piece of metal that, with only minor modification, can become an operable firearm, a "ghost gun." The only person who would want to own a ghost gun is someone who cannot pass a background check and/or wants to commit a crime with a firearm that cannot be traced back to them.

It's time we close this dangerous loophole so that New York’s gun safety laws once again apply to every gun purchase, and so that those who would otherwise fail a background check don’t have an alternate pathway to get their hands on a dangerous, untraceable weapon.

A bill before the State Legislature called the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receiver Act would make it a felony to possess and sell the components that are widely available online and easily converted into functioning, untraceable ghost guns.

It is fitting that this bill, sponsored by Sen. Anna Kaplan and Assemb. Charles D. Lavine, is named in my son’s honor, because, once enacted, this legislation will save lives, too.

According to a PBS NewsHour / Marist poll, 8% of Americans support the insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol in January. The Southern Poverty Law Center estimates there are more than 550 anti-government extremist groups across our nation, 41 of which are documented as so-called militias. We can’t allow these types of extremists to stockpile untraceable weapons they fictitiously claim are necessary for their protection.

In the past, obtaining untraceable firearms required removing serial numbers or purchasing from black-market smugglers. Today, the internet provides a new kind of iron pipeline that can deliver a weapon of war to your door with all the ease of a standard online transaction, without ever going through a background check. Astoundingly, it’s perfectly legal under current law here in New York, as well as in most states around the country.

These online sales are a relatively new phenomenon, and interest is surging. The top five instructional videos on YouTube giving tips on finishing the fabrication of a gun have been viewed more than 3 million times, according to Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund.

Over the last 20 years, the federal government has taken no action on enacting any meaningful gun safety initiative. But last month, President Joe Biden announced the "Initial Actions to Address the Gun Violence Public Health Epidemic," and is expected to follow up with a proposal to stop the proliferation of ghost guns. New York must continue to lead on this front.

Now is the time to be inspired by Scott’s life, and to enact laws to keep our communities safe from the threat posed by violent extremism. Let us unite to protect our families, our communities and the soul of our nation from the clear and present danger presented by the intersection of radical ideology and easy access to untraceable, home-manufactured weapons.