Pictured is a "ghost" gun recovered from a minor by the Montgomery County Police Department on Dec. 30. Ghost guns are usually undetectable and made out of plastic or fiberglass. The guns can be purchased without a background check.
Photo from Montgomery County Police
Plastic, fiberglass and undetectable “ghost guns” — a “do-it-yourself” version of firearms — are becoming a more popular and available way to purchase an untraceable gun without a background check.
In 2020, the Montgomery County Police Department found 73 ghost guns — 12 times as many as the year prior, when six were found.
The department arrested 55 adults on charges of possessing or selling them, and three juveniles on charges of possessing them.
Prior to 2020, the department had seized a total of 25 ghost guns, according to Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones.
The spike in the prevalence of the undetectable guns has prompted local and state lawmakers to work on legislation restricting the manufacture, possession, sale, and transfer of the guns in the county and state.
Montgomery County Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz plans to introduce legislation during a council meeting on Tuesday.
State Del. Lesley Lopez (D-Germantown) is working on similar legislation for a statewide restriction.
Congress also considered a bill on untraceable firearms last year, but it did not pass.
The county’s bill focuses on restrictions for minors and public places since state law does not allow the county to regulate the firearms.
Ghost guns — also known as “DIY,” or do it yourself, guns — include firearms that have unfinished frames or receivers and are unserialized. Undetectable guns cannot be detected through metal detectors and can be made with 3D printers.
The county’s bill would specifically prohibit a person from transferring a ghost or undetectable gun to a minor. It would also prohibit manufacturing a gun in front of a minor, and storing the guns or its components in a place accessible to minors.
In addition, the sale, transfer, manufacturing, or possession of the weapons or a computer code to create the firearms with a 3D printer within 100 yards of a place of public assembly would be prohibited.
Albornoz said that two years ago, a 17-year-old student at Clarksburg High School wrote a manifesto and was intent on causing significant harm to classmates and administrators. The student brought a ghost gun to school.
“We know that ghost guns are very dangerous weapons,” Albornoz said. “Ghost guns are in a gray area of the law at the federal and state level.”
The guns often come with kits and instructions and are marketed as a hobbyist item, Albornoz said.
“This issue is very much on the rise. … These firearms are also disproportionately getting into the hands of our youth,” he said.
Lopez said that her bill will require that manufacturers serialize any unfinished receivers and that handgun qualifying licenses be required for the sale of an unfinished receiver.
“Individuals lawfully have been making guns at home for their own private use for centuries. Our bills will still allow them to do that,” she said. “But without safeguards in our legislation, this means that anyone, even those who have been deemed unfit to possess a firearm, could be armed anywhere and at any time.”
Jones said technology is always a step ahead of society, particular when it comes to laws.
“Montgomery County has seen a growing tide in the possession of these weapons to include selling them on the black market to some individuals who are prohibited from having weapons or possessing them,” he said.
Jones appeared with Albornoz and Lopez in a virtual press conference about the county and state bills on Friday.
With the proliferation continuing, the weapons have been used in shooting assaults in the county, Jones said. The weapons are almost impossible to be traced because there is no serial number.
“I think this legislation provides law enforcement with another significant tool in our belts to prevent senseless tragedies and eliminate more crimes,” he said. “That is one of the main functions of our department … crime prevention. We don’t want to wait until things happen tragically.”
Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at briana.adhikusuma@bethesdamagazine.com.
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