![]() And so that’s what this proposed law is about, in part. It would actually finally require that even these unfinished receivers and frames would require serial numbers and would require background checks – right now, they don’t, and so they don’t in Oregon, right? But we’re hoping to change that. So the new proposed federal rule would make some progress in this regard. So I hope you don’t dig down too far here, Dave, but the fact of the matter is that this is also true by the way, as to 3-D printed receivers or frames – there’s no background check, there’s no serial number requirement. It took me a long time to understand that, because I’m not a gun expert. And because these receivers are less than 80% complete under federal law, they don’t require a background check or serial numbers that completed receivers have to have. When they’re 80% receivers, these require a buyer to use machine tools to complete the manufacturing process on their own. Rosenblum: I can’t really speak for the federal government, and this comes out of essentially federal law, and there’s a distinction that’s made between fully finished frames and receivers that are sold, where background checks are required and where there are serial numbers on those parts and something called the 80% receivers. But if you buy something that can, very easily, it seems, be turned into the same exact thing. Miller : Can you explain to your best ability why this loophole exists, why it is that if you buy a fully formed gun, it has to have a serial number. Third time was not a charm, but hopefully the fourth time will be, because this is a really serious problem. We’re not out in front, but it’s not too late, I hope. I hoped Oregon would get out in front on this issue. So we’re the only West Coast state so far to not have adopted ghost gun legislation. So look, they’re our neighbors, and in fact, they have adopted this legislation as has Washington. But we do know that in California for example, a couple of years ago, very recently, 30% of all guns seized were ghost guns, and in LA, I think it was closer to over 40%. We can’t solve crimes in which these are used as crime guns, which is unfortunately becoming more common. And so we’re not able to trace them to really figure out even where they came from. Unfortunately we don’t have that number because law enforcement doesn’t keep track here in Oregon of ghost guns that are seized, and of course, ghost guns when they’re seized, they don’t have serial numbers. Can you put a number on that? Do you have a sense how many there are in Oregon now, the extent to which they are increasing? Miller : You wrote in this Op-ed that ghost guns represent a growing danger to all Oregonians. Ellen Rosenblum, welcome back.Įllen Rosenblum: Thanks, Dave, good to be here. She wrote an Op-Ed about this issue in today’s Oregonian. She has tried to get the legislature to act for three years now, so far unsuccessfully. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum wants to restrict access to these guns. That’s handy if you’re a felon and are not allowed to possess a firearm, like the Salem man who was found with more than 60 of these ghost guns, in addition to about 200 counterfeit Oxycodone pills containing Fentanyl. Unlike guns purchased at a store, these don’t require a background check. These guns can be made from either a 3-D printer or assembled at home from parts that can easily and legally be bought online. Federal authorities recently uncovered a massive ghost gun manufacturing operation in Salem. The following transcript was created by a computer and edited by a volunteer.ĭave Miller : This is Think Out Loud on OPB, I’m Dave Miller. Joining us now is Ellen Rosenblum, Oregon’s state attorney general, who has championed legislation to restrict ghost guns at the state and federal level. Although the majority of guns used to commit a crime contain a serial number, police in Los Angeles and other large California cities have recorded a dramatic increase in the recovery of ghost guns at crime scenes since 2020. ![]() ![]() They also lack serial numbers, which makes it difficult to trace them when used to commit a crime. Ghost guns can be made from either a 3D printer or assembled at home from parts that can be legally purchased online and don’t require a background check. ![]() In March, federal law enforcement officials discovered more than 60 privately made firearms, or ghost guns, being manufactured by a convicted felon in Salem.
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