United States: Joe Biden to strengthen regulations against "ghost" weapons
Gun store in Forth Worth, Texas on July 10, 2016. Getty Images via AFP - SPENCER PLATT
Text by: RFI Follow
2 mins
US President Joe Biden will announce on Monday a decree against so-called "phantom" weapons, which are difficult to spot in the absence of a serial number and can be mounted at home in just a few minutes.
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The executive order, which took a year to develop, concerns a type of weapon that law enforcement officials say is increasingly showing up at crime scenes in the United States.
"
This is the weapon of choice for criminals
," said an administration official, speaking on a confidential basis.
The new rule states that component parts that can be easily assembled into
a functional firearm
will be subject to the same requirements as pre-assembled firearms available for purchase, administration officials said.
Dealers of such spare parts kits will now have to carry out background checks on potential buyers or even include a serial number on the constituent parts of a firearm, namely the frame or the receiver, according to the official.
Finally, to bolster tracing efforts, federally licensed firearms dealers will be required to keep their records for as long as they are in business, not just 20 years as was the case until now. now.
Over 45,000 reports of phantom firearms
The decree "
will make it more difficult for criminals (...) to obtain non-traceable firearms
", will improve the work of law enforcement officials, as they will be able to "
retrieve the information they have needed to solve crimes
” and “
will help reduce the number of untraceable firearms flooding our communities
,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said.
From January 2016 to December 2021, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, approximately 45,240 reports of firearms suspected of being made by private individuals were recovered by law enforcement, including in 692 investigations for homicide or attempted homicide, the Justice Department said.
Over this period, the Bureau only succeeded in tracing the owner of a “
phantom
” weapon in only 0.98% of cases, detailed the ministry.
(
with AFP
)
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To read: In New York, Joe Biden shows his firmness against gun violence
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