United States federal law
Under U.S. federal law making and owning a ghost gun is allowed, assuming that no other impediments exist.[1]
Some U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) officials characterize this as a loophole.[11] The U.S. State Department has sued to take computer files to control 3D-printers off the internet under the grounds their publication constituted export of a munition under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations.[16] With a legal case pending United States Supreme Court action,[18][19] Defense Distributed removed the files, but the censored blueprints remain accessible via The Pirate Bay's "Physibles" section and other sites.[20][21] The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reported in 2013 that it had seized hundreds of ghost guns, including a machine gun,[10] and unregistered silencers.[8] The FBI does not generally track the use of homemade firearms.[13] ATF agents say that ghost guns are sold at a US$1,000 premium due to being untraceable.[22] According to the ATF there was a run on the sales of assault rifles following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, due to gun enthusiasts' fear of their being banned. Many people were selling ghost guns, illegally,[8]
In a 2014 raid of Ares Armor, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms confiscated 6,000 receiver blanks which they said were too close to finished units.[11] After a lawsuit, all but 18 of the seized receivers were returned and placed for sale to purchasers in 47 states.[23] In a similar case, EG Armory of California was raided, but agreed to forfeit 3800 lower receivers without admission of any wrongdoing.[23] In Sacramento the owner of C&G Tool Inc. pled guilty to illegal manufacture of firearms. Prosecutors argued that he "advertised his shop as a place where people could make guns in 20 minutes by pressing a few buttons on a computerized machine", rejecting his position that buyers created their own guns.[10]
Ghost gun - Wikipedia
