Newsom signs law hoping to curb ‘ghost gun’ production

Gov. Gavin Newsom this week signed a bill into law that is meant to curb the proliferation of untraceable firearms known as “ghost guns.”

Assembly Bill 2842, authored by state Assemblymember Diane Papan, D-San Mateo, prohibits third-party gun destruction entities from reselling leftover gun parts after the firearm mechanism is destroyed. 

Law enforcement agencies use these companies to destroy guns taken as evidence or from community gun buyback events aimed at reducing the number of firearms on the streets. But some of these destruction companies have been selling unserialized gun parts that become the building blocks of ghost guns, Papan said. 

Ghost guns are un-serialized weapons cobbled together by disparate gun parts, either in kits or by assembling single parts. Unlike serialized firearms, these guns are untraceable by law enforcement, making them attractive to those who want to sidestep gun laws, according to the nonprofit Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

“Ghost gun kits and parts have long been intentionally marketed as unregulated and untraceable to appeal to those who want to avoid background checks and/or cannot legally possess firearms,” said the organization on its website, “including minors, domestic abusers, and gun traffickers.”  

According to Papan’s office, ghost guns have proliferated greatly in recent years. Between 2010 and 2020, over 39,000 of them were linked to crimes in the state. By 2022, this number grew to 45,000. 

Papan said part of the rise in ghost guns can be blamed on “unethical” firearm parts dealers, specifically some firearm destruction companies, which sell un-serialized parts through a loophole which this new law addresses. 

“By prohibiting the resale of gun parts by third-party destruction companies, we are taking a critical step to eliminate these untraceable weapons and ensuring they do not find their way back into the hands of criminals,” said Papan in a statement released by her office. 

AB 2842 mandates that law enforcement agencies only contract with firearm destruction companies that prohibit the resale of gun parts when they bring them guns recovered from crime scenes and buy-back programs.  

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