Ghost Gun Seizures Nearly Triple in Two Years

The number of ghost guns recovered by U.S. law enforcement rose swiftly between 2016 and 2022, the same year the Biden Administration introduced background checks and outlawed accessible built-at-home kits without serial numbers for these types of firearms which had previously evaded tracing due to their DIY nature. Now, the Supreme Court today is hearing a case that pro-gun groups, manufacturers and citizens have brought against the U.S. government trying to overturn these rules that they say are based on an unjust expansion of the term firearm and therefore are beyond the power of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to enforce.

A lower court sided with the plaintiffs and the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case back in April. Since the introduction of the new rules and states also passing their own bans and regulations on the subject, there are indications that the proliferation of ghost guns has slowed. There are no 2023 numbers available from ATF. However, an analysis of police department data from 34 cities by Everytown Research showed a well-known manufacturer of ghost gun kits, Polymer80, was still the seventh most common source of guns used in crimes in 2023 across these municipalities at 1.5 percent. The number of 670 recovered Polymer80 guns that year was a step down from 933 in 2022 (across continuously reporting municipalities). The most used manufacturer was Glock at 18.4 percent. Polymer80, whose name alludes to the 80 percent-ready firearm kits if produces, has ceased operation in July. It was headquartered in Nevada, a state that decided to ban and regulate ghost guns in 2021.