As ghost guns proliferate in California, Bonta joins defense of federal regulation
California Attorney General Rob Bonta has signed on to defend the federal government’s “Final Rule,” which expands the definition of “firearm” to include the gun kits used to create ghost guns.
The Department of Justice and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are facing a legal challenge from gun manufacturer Division 80. Bonta and attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia filed an amicus brief Monday urging that the manufacturer’s motion be denied.
“There have been more mass shootings in the nation than days in the year in 2022. In California, we know our protective measures work, but we need to see such action nationwide,” Bonta said in a statement. “I am in support of stronger federal efforts to curb the gun violence sweeping our country and the killing of thousands of Americans, including children.”
Because they are not federally recognized as firearms, ghost guns often do not have serial numbers and are not subject to the same background checks as other guns. While the California Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom have passed legislation to regulate ghost guns, blue states are finding that statewide actions can only go so far.
“Though individual states have worked diligently to protect their citizens from gun violence and address this emerging threat, there is a natural limit to states’ abilities to combat a nationwide problem that crosses state borders,” the brief reads. “Absent federal enforcement, ghost guns have continued to proliferate, including in the very states that have been trying to keep them out.”
While the Golden State is home to some of the strictest gun laws in the country, ghost guns have proliferated over the last seven years. In 2015, California law enforcement agencies seized 26 ghost guns, according to Bonta’s office. By 2021, that figure rose to 12,388. Four months ago at a Sacramento church, a man banned from owning guns killed his children, a chaperone and himself using a ghost gun.
The brief explains that California has attempted to curb unserialized guns since “at least 2016.” Nevertheless, such weapons made up almost 30 percent of guns recovered by the ATF in the state.
“This combination of widespread access and federal inaction has made it easier for individuals to circumvent state gun laws, bringing unserialized weapons into the very states that have been trying to keep them out,” the brief says.
Bonta is no stranger to being sued over gun laws. The Attorney General currently faces a lawsuit from gun rights groups who are attacking a new bill that prohibits the gun industry from advertising certain weapons to minors. A bill Newsom signed Tuesday morning, which allows for lawsuits against gun manufacturers, is expected to face similar legal pushback.
This story was originally published July 13, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "As ghost guns proliferate in California, Bonta joins defense of federal regulation."