The Michigan Senate has taken significant steps towards making the possession, sale, or assembly of firearms without serial numbers illegal, targeting the proliferation of “ghost guns.” These firearms, which can be constructed from kits or even 3D printed, are becoming increasingly popular due to their untraceable nature.
State Senator Mallory McMorrow, a key advocate for this legislative effort, highlighted the alarming rise in ghost gun recoveries by federal authorities, from 1,500 in 2016 to over 20,000 today, with less than 1% being traceable to their original owners. This statistic has fueled the urgency behind the proposed laws.
The proposed legislation outlines penalties for violations. A first offense would be classified as a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a $5,000 fine and one year in prison. Subsequent violations would be felonies, with penalties reaching a $10,000 fine and up to five years in prison. However, exceptions are made for antique, permanently inoperable firearms, and those intended for law enforcement or official use.
The topic of ghost guns has gained recent attention following their alleged use in a high-profile murder case involving a health insurance executive in New York. McMorrow emphasized the potential dangers of these easily assembled weapons, noting their capacity to be fitted with silencers, making them more lethal. “What is to prevent somebody from assembling a kit-gun from parts that you can find online or, as we saw in the murder, 3D printing a gun and manufacturing something that you can attach a silencer to and becomes much more dangerous,” she stated.
The bills, passed along party lines with Democratic support, faced opposition from Republicans like Senator Joe Bellino, who argued for better enforcement of existing laws instead of imposing new ones. “Instead of cracking down on criminals, this bill is another attempt to infringe upon the rights of law abiding citizens who responsibly exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Bellino remarked.
In a related move, the Senate also voted to ban bump stock devices, which can convert semi-automatic guns to fire continuously with a single trigger pull, a device infamously used in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.
Despite clearing the Senate, the ghost gun bills face uncertainty as they head to the Michigan House, where Republicans, who are generally opposed to the legislation, are set to assume control in the upcoming session. With only a short period remaining in the current legislative schedule, the bills’ future remains unclear.
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