Ghost guns, which are untraceable firearms assembled from kits, have been banned in L.A. (photo by Edwin Folven)

The Los Angeles City Council on Aug. 31 approved a ban on the possession, purchase, sale, receipt and transportation of non-serialized firearms known as ghost guns. Following an increase in shootings, gun-related homicides and a surge in the number of ghost guns confiscated by police, Los Angeles City Councilmen Paul Koretz, 5th District, and Paul Krekorian, 2nd District, co-presented a motion that will direct the city attorney to draft an ordinance. The proposal requires approval by Mayor Eric Garcetti.

“Shootings and homicides have surged since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and Los Angeles has been no exception. As of July, homicides are up nearly 30% over last year, and shootings are up 43%. Additionally, over 40% of guns confiscated by the ATF and a third of crime guns recovered by the LAPD in Los Angeles in 2020 were ghost guns,” Koretz said. “With such staggering numbers and the sharp increase in hate crimes, we cannot turn a blind eye on a backdoor that allows criminals to gain access to firearms when they would otherwise be denied through the front door.”

“Ghost guns are deliberately designed to avoid tracing, and when sold without background checks, end up in the possession of felons,” added Krekorian, who earlier this year sponsored a motion allowing a city lawsuit to go forward with pro bono counsel against Nevada-based Polymer 80, one of the nation’s largest sellers of ghost gun kits. “In Los Angeles, ghost guns were a factor in the sharp rise in homicides in 2020. This motion enables the city to move aggressively to significantly reduce the number of non-serialized firearms in our communities.”

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives issued a rule that would expand the definition of a firearm to include weapons that can be assembled at home. The proposed rule aims to hold ready-to-assemble gun kits to the same legal standards as completed, serialized guns, Koretz and Krekorian said.

“Ghost guns are a threat to public safety and undermine nearly every common-sense gun safety law on the books,” said Suzanne Verge, president of the Los Angeles chapter of Brady United to End Gun Violence. “We cannot allow these unregulated, untraceable and fully functioning firearms to continue to proliferate in our communities.