Biden DOJ Classifying Gun Parts as 'Firearms' to Ban 'Ghost Guns'

The White House released a fact sheet early Monday indicating that President Joe Biden intends to announce that his Department of Justice (DOJ) is prepared to label gun parts kits as “firearms” in an effort to ban so-called “ghost guns.”

Democrats use the phrase “ghost guns” to describe firearms that Americans can build themselves. The firearms are often built from an 80 percent receiver in the case of a rifle, or 80 percent frame, in the case of a pistol. Building such guns has long been an American hobby. The new rules from Biden’s DOJ refer to the 80 percent parts kits as “buy, build, shoot” kits and label the kits themselves as firearms.

On May 7, 2021, Breitbart News noted that Biden’s DOJ was pushing news rules to require a background check to acquire the gun parts kit necessary to build a firearm at home and also to require that Federal Firearm License holders (FFLs) add a serial number to any previously built or 3D-printed guns that “they take into inventory.”

Attorney General Merrick Garland commented on the proposed changes, saying:

We are committed to taking commonsense steps to address the epidemic of gun violence that takes the lives of too many people in our communities. Criminals and others barred from owning a gun should not be able to exploit a loophole to evade background checks and to escape detection by law enforcement. This proposed rule would help keep guns out of the wrong hands and make it easier for law enforcement to trace guns used to commit violent crimes, while protecting the rights of law-abiding Americans. Although this rulemaking will solve only one aspect of the problem, we have an obligation to do our part to keep our families and our neighborhoods safe from gun violence.

The new rules to be announced by Biden and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco follow through on the early 2021 proposal by requiring that FFLs add serial numbers to any unserialized gun taken into their possession:

The Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon. For example, if an individual builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawn broker or another federally licensed dealer, that dealer must put a serial number on the weapon before selling it to a customer. This requirement will apply regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.