LA councilmembers vote to ban ‘ghost guns’

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to ban so-called “ghost guns,” which are untraceable firearms that are typically sold in kits for at-home assembly without serial numbers or background check requirements. 

The City Council’s ordinance, which Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) is expected to sign, prohibits the possession, sale, purchase, receipt or transportation of firearms without serial numbers and the parts used to make them, the Los Angeles Times reported.

People who violate the policy could be fined up to $1,000 and receive up to six months in jail.

Since 2017, the number of ghost runs seized by the Los Angeles Police Department has increased by roughly 400 percent. In 2020, the department seized 813 ghost guns. The department has already seized 1,780 this year, the Times added.

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said ghost guns were used in two dozen murders, eight attempted murders, 60 assaults with a deadly weapon and 20 robberies in 2021, according to the Times.

The LAPD has described the use of ghost guns as “an epidemic not only in Los Angeles but nationwide.”

Moore, however, noted that he did not think that the ban would fix the issue of gun violence in the city.

“But this is a feeder system to that problem,” he said, per the Times. “And much like automobile safety, it is accomplished through a series of progressive steps.”

The Hill has reached out to Garcetti and the LAPD for comment.