Sen. Reed, AG Neronha urging congressional action against ghost guns

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — In an effort to help prevent gun violence and improve public safety, U.S. Senator Jack Reed and Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha joined together to urge congressional action on stopping criminal from obtaining ghost guns.

According to Reed and Neronha, there is a growing number of ghost guns turning up at scenes of violent crimes and they said the guns can be sold with no background check or serial number.

Officials said traditional guns are sold by licensed dealers and require serial numbers, and most buyers complete a background check before obtaining the gun.

At a federal level, Sen. Reed said he’s working to ban ghost guns and pass the Untraceable Firearms Act, which would require sellers of ghost gun kits to comply with federal regulations around gun safety.

It would also mandate that unfinished frames and receivers, which make up the core of a ghost gun, be added to the definition of the word “firearm.”

At a state level, Attorney General Neronha said he’s vigorously prosecuted ghost gun users.  In his latest annual report on gun crimes in Rhode Island, Neronha said there were 66 cases involving ghost guns last year.

“Because ghost guns are untraceable, they are sought after by the very people who shouldn’t be armed in the first place,” Neronha said. “Here in Rhode Island, we have put in the work to pass common sense gun laws that help keep our communities safe. But with the prevalence of ghost guns and ambiguity at the federal level, criminals can circumvent the system, and we are back to square one. It’s time to get tougher on ghost guns with stronger federal regulations and I’m proud to stand with Senator Reed in this initiative.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the ATF recovered 25,785 ghost guns in domestic seizures, as well as 2,453 through international operations in 2022.

Rhode Island is also one of 13 states that regulate ghost guns, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.  The others are: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.