New York Senate passes legislation cracking down on 'ghost guns'

ALBANY (WCBS 880) — The New York State Senate on Wednesday passed legislation that would crack down on the manufacturing, assembly and possession of a so-called “ghost gun” in the state.

The two bills known as the Jose Webster Untraceable Firearms Act and the Scott J. Beigel Unfinished Receivers Act were passed by the Senate just days before the third anniversary of the Parkland School shooting.

According to a press release, the Jose Webster Act, sponsored by State Sen. Brad Hoylman, “prohibits the sale and possession of ghost guns and ensures law enforcement will be able to track the manufacture and sale of all guns in New York.”

The law would define a “ghost gun” as a firearm that does not have a serial number or is not registered in accordance with state or federal law.

The legislation, named in memory of a Bronx man killed by gun violence in 2011, would make it illegal for anyone in the state of New York to possess such a weapon, excluding licensed gunsmiths.

“Nearly 10,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement nationally in 2019 according to ATF—that’s thousands of dangerous firearms in the hands of individuals who didn’t have to pass a background check. New York enacted historic gun safety legislation in 2013, but these untraceable weapons can evade the strong protections we fought so hard to pass,” Hoylman said in a statement. “Our bill will ban the sale and possession of ghost guns and ensure law enforcement has the necessary tools to track the manufacture and sale of all guns in New York.”

The Scott Beigel Act, named for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School teacher who lost his life during the shooting, specifically bans the possession of "unfinished receivers" or "80% Receivers.”

According to the bill’s sponsor, State Sen. Anna Kaplan, the receivers can be purchased online without a background check and can be easily converted into an operable firearm.

“If you can’t pass a background check to obtain a firearm legally, then you shouldn’t be able to circumvent the process by making your own out of parts you bought online either,” Kaplan said in a statement. “The ‘unfinished receiver loophole’ in our gun laws allows too many dangerous ghost guns into our community every year, and with the rise of extremism across the country driving huge demand for these untraceable weapons, we must take action to close it right away.”

According to Hoylman, during the pandemic, the sale of firearms and ghost guns have skyrocketed. ProPublica also reported that the “Boogaloo Boys,” a right-wing militia group involved with the riots at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, have embraced ghost guns as one of their preferred weapons.

Just last week, a 36-year-old Saratoga County man also pled guilty to firearm charges after admitting he conspired to build and sell ghost guns.

The legislation still needs to pass through the New York State Assembly before heading to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s desk.