LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Following President Joe Biden’s announced crackdown on ‘ghost guns,’ some people spoke about how it would impact the rising gun violence in Louisville.
Barry Laws, president of Open Range in Crestwood, said requiring ghost guns to display serial numbers wouldn't really help in solving gun crimes. He said the federal law's goal of being able to trace the origin of the gun is flawed because it's a very imperfect process to begin with.
“Since there’s no serial number on a ghost gun, they’re saying that they can’t do that initial trace step, but does it really help solve crime? I’m not really sold on that,” Laws said. "Just because it's a ghost gun doesn't make it any different from a real gun once it's stolen, sold, etc."
ATF Special Agent in Charge Shawn Morrow said it's true that tracing isn't always successful. However, he said oftentimes it is successful, and it's just one piece of the puzzle.
Laws said something is considered a ghost gun when there is a receiver and the buyer is responsible to buy the parts that make up the gun. Also, buyers have to drill the holes that make the gun work.
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He said the privately manufactured guns aren't as frightening as they sound.
"Ghost guns. It sounds so scary,” Laws said. “Ghost gun, It's going to come get you."
Morrow said last year, about 50 ghost guns were confiscated in Kentucky; of those, most were from Lexington and Louisville.
In Louisville, Morrow said he's noticed semi-automatic converters, which Morrow also classifies as ghost guns, which can allow people to fire multiple rounds at once.
“When they fall into the hands of individuals who are not supposed to have them, gang members, armed drug distributors, or people who intend on harming others, they can cause a lot of destruction,” Morrow said.
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Still, Laws said there are better ways to deal with rising gun violence.
“It’s not going to stop people who want to do crime,” Laws said. “It’s not going to stop anybody to say, ‘Oh, you can’t buy ghost guns anymore,’ because guess what? Somebody is gonna start doing it in their basement.”
While Morrow said though it might be more relevant in other states with higher numbers of ghost guns, the measure is still important and it’s a step toward tacking gun violence.
"Being able to trace a firearm, being able to identify the original purchaser and be able to determine how it made its way from a lawful transaction to that crime scene is very important," he said.
Morrow said there are other things that need to happen to crack down on crime, including answering LMPD's calls for more staff and resources. He said crime has fallen in the first quarter of 2022 and should be recognized, but not celebrated as of yet.
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