New York’s Contingency to the Manufacturing of Ghost Guns

Albany, NY – New York State Senator Kevin Parker and Senator Brad Hoylman. have joined forces with the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence to regulate the manufacturing of “ghost guns” in New York State. Ghost guns can be manufactured from advance technologies like 3-D printers. The most alarming aspect of ghost guns is that they do not have serial numbers, making it more difficult for law enforcement to track down. The Trump administration has failed to put proper regulations in place to combat this alarming issue.

If signed into law, the legislation put forth by Senator Parker and Senator Hoylman will:

• make it illegal to manufacture or assemble a ghost gun without a gunsmith license

• requires a gunsmith who manufactures or assembles a ghost gun to register the gun with law enforcement and obtain a permanently affixed serial number that satisfies federal standards

• requires each major component of a legally produced ghost gun to be detectable by a metal detector

• make it illegal to possess or transfer a ghost gun without a serial number

Senator Parker stated, “As we work diligently to combat gun violence, I am proud to sponsor legislation to create regulations around the manufacturing of ghost guns. This will send a clear message to both sellers and buyers that the irresponsible manufacturing and use of a firearm in NYS will not be tolerated. This legislation is a bipartisan, common sense way of combating gun violence,” concluded Senator Parker.

“Thanks to the Trump administration, anyone in America or across the world--be it a teenager, felon, or terrorist--can evade a background check and manufacture a dangerous weapon with a click of a button,” said Senator Hoylman. “This is an existential threat to gun control as we know it. It is unconscionable to put the lives of New Yorkers and Americans at risk just to satisfy the demands of the gun lobby. It’s now up to New York to close this deadly loophole that will allow dangerous individuals to access a gun on demand, and I’m proud to take those initial steps today.”

David Pucino from the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence supports ghost gun legislation, “Ghost guns are untraceable firearms that are built by unlicensed individuals, rather than licensed manufacturers. They can be assembled or manufactured in the home using unregulated parts or a 3D-printing machine and a file downloaded from the internet. People who cannot pass a background check should not be able to make guns with 3D printers or parts they ordered online.

Pucino went on to add that, “Ghost guns do not have serial numbers and cannot be traced by law enforcement. And downloadable guns made with plastic cannot be detected by traditional security systems, which means they could be smuggled onto an airplane or into other high-security environments. Ghost guns have been used in multiple recent shootings and are increasingly made and sold by gun traffickers. Public safety is at stake, and now is the time to act. We have been proud to work with Senators Hoylman and Parker as they demonstrate leadership by sponsoring comprehensive legislation that serves as a model for the nation. We urge the New York legislature to pass this important bill,” conclude Mr. Pucino.

About State Senator Kevin Parker

Senator Kevin S. Parker is intimately familiar with the needs of his ethnically diverse Brooklyn district comprised of sections of Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood, Ditmas Park, Kensington, Windsor Terrace, and Park Slope.  A lifelong Brooklyn resident, he is the Ranking Democratic Member on the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications.

Senator Parker is the Whip of the Senate Democratic Conference; Member of the Senate Democratic Conference Policy Group; Member of the Senate Select Committee on Technology & Innovation; and Member of the Senate Democratic Minority and Women-Owned Business Task Force (MWBE).

For the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, Senator Parker serves on the Senate Standing Committees on Finance; Rules; Higher education; Labor; Insurance, and Banks.

To learn more about Senator Parker and his initiatives on behalf of working families across New York State, please visit www.nysenate.gov/senators/kevin-s-parker.