Homemade firearm
A homemade firearm, also called a ghost gun or privately made firearm, is a firearm made by a private individual, in contrast to one produced by a corporate or government entity. The term ghost gun is used mostly in the United States, where it was coined by gun control advocates to describe the untraceability of such weapons, but has also been reappropriated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, some gun rights advocates and the firearm industry.
Production
United States
Under U.S. federal law, the creation of a firearm for non-commercial purposes has, almost without exception, been unlicensed and legal. Since the passage of the Gun Control Act of 1968, however, anyone intending to manufacture firearms for sale or distribution is required to obtain a Federal Firearms License, and each firearm made is required to bear a unique serial number.In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives issued a rule that determined "buy build shoot" kits, which the ATF claimed could be assembled into functioning firearms in as little as 20 minutes, fit within the definition of "frame or receiver" used in the Gun Control Act of 1968. The ATF regulation, Final Rule 2021-05F, went into effect on August 24, 2022. This regulation expanded upon the current terms used in the Code of Federal Regulations by addition of the following:
The ATF rule thus required such kits to have serial numbers, required manufacturers of such kits to be licensed, and required commercial sellers of such kits to conduct background checks for purchasers. Under U.S. law, the frame or receiver of a firearm is treated as though it were a firearm itself; accordingly, both are subject to similar regulations.
The rule was challenged in court by gun advocacy groups, and a U.S. district judge in Texas, Reed O'Connor, ruled in 2023 that the ATF rule exceeded the agency's authority and issued a nationwide injunction blocking the rule. However, the U.S. has appealed to the Fifth Circuit, and O'Connor's injunction was stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court, allowing the rule to go into effect pending further proceedings.
While some states have passed laws restricting the creation of homemade firearms, in most states unfinished receivers are sold without requiring a federal or state background check.
History
Most receiver blanks from the 20th century could be finished with hand tools, a drill press, or machine tools. Certain companies in the 1990s began to sell receiver kits that could include drill bits, stencils, or jigs to aid the finishing process.Starting in the 2010s, polymer receiver blanks and kits became popular, which require only hand tools for finishing. Polymer80, based in Dayton, Nevada, became well known for being a top producer of such receivers.
It has always been possible to make firearms from raw materials, and more recently it has become popular among firearms hobbyists to produce receivers from plastic with a 3D printer, though the variety of materials and methods used to create these receivers are of varying quality.
A popular machine tool for completing receiver blanks is a CNC mill. The company Defense Distributed sells a CNC milling machine named the Ghost Gunner for this purpose. The Ghost Gunner was first sold in 2014, when the term "ghost gun" became popularized.
AR-15-style firearms are often made as homemade firearms. AR-15s are modular firearms, and maker's marks are usually applied to the lower receiver, which houses the trigger group. A person with an AR-15 lower receiver can assemble a complete firearm using widely available, commercial and unregulated components, such as barrels, stocks, and upper receivers.
Pistols and AK-47-style semi-automatic rifles are also popularly made as homemade firearms. The Intelligence Division of the New York City Police Department has published a survey and compendium of homemade firearm types.
Non-U.S. jurisdictions
Overseas production centers of clandestine homemade firearms include China, the Khyber Pass area of Pakistan, and the Philippines; the Philippines are especially known for the production of.45 caliber semi-automatic pistols.Political controversy
Traceability
Because they lack serial numbers and manufacturer identification, homemade firearms are more difficult to trace than conventional firearms.To help trace homemade firearms used in crime and assist detectives in criminal investigations, ATF officials have advised law enforcement agencies to submit evidence obtained in investigations to the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network.
In a 2021 commentary on firearms in the journal Injury Epidemiology, firearm violence expert Garen Wintemute wrote that "The potential for large-scale, clandestine firearm manufacture in support of armed extremist groups is cause for great concern." Wintemute wrote that the relative inexpensiveness of 3D-printing equipment could facilitate the growths of arsenals held by violent extremist organizations. Mexican drug cartels are reported to be developing 3D-printed grenade launchers.
While there are no reliable statistics on how many homemade firearms are being recovered in crimes, since the issue rose to prominence in California, the ATF has documented recoveries of homemade firearms in 38 States plus DC, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The ATF noted an increasing number of homemade firearm seizures every year since 2016, and over 1,600 of these firearms have been entered into NIBIN.
Advocates
Gun rights activists support the private production of firearms, claiming the practice as a constitutional right and a way to maintain the privacy of gun owners. Individuals have organized "build parties" where equipment and expertise are shared to help create homemade firearms. Advocates say that homemade firearms are rarely used in crime despite widespread ownership. Gun rights advocates and law enforcement assert that because of the cost and effort required to make homemade firearms, criminals would prefer to steal firearms for use in crime, a fact borne out by DOJ statistics. While the ATF does not track homemade firearms, the FBI reports that their use in crimes is increasing.Notable crimes
Noted crimes in which homemade firearms were used include the shooting sprees in Rancho Tehama, California, Baltimore, Maryland, and Kingsessing, Philadelphia. In each of these cases, the shooter used home-assembled AR-15–style rifles. The weapon allegedly used by the suspect in the 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson is believed by authorities to have been homemade as well. Recently, law enforcement officials in the United States have begun encountering privately made machine gun conversion devices. Devices such as the Glock switch have been used in crimes such as the 2022 Sacramento shooting.File:PMF-GlockSwitchAndSwiftLink.png|thumb|Example of privately made machinegun conversion devices. The devices on the left are Glock switches. The devices on the righthand side are known as 'swift links'. They are used in Glock handguns and AR-15–style rifles, respectively.
On July 8, 2022, former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated in Nara, Japan, using a homemade "zip-gun" that was electrically fired via a metal filament wire heating up near the propellant.
U.S. law
U.S. federal law
Congress passed the Gun Control Act of 1968 or the GCA, to expand interstate commerce controls over common firearms like handguns, shotguns and rifles. The GCA requires those who are "engaged in the business" of manufacturing or dealing in firearms to be licensed by the ATF. Federal firearms licensees are required to mark their firearms' serial numbers and keep records of their transactions. The GCA also prohibits certain categories of persons, like convicted felons, domestic abusers, current users of illicit drugs and others, from possessing firearms.To help enforce these prohibitions, Congress passed the Brady Act in 1993, creating the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, and requiring FFLs to submit potential firearms purchaser information to NICS before transferring firearms.
While Congress passed the GCA as a response to the assassination of then-President John F. Kennedy, its drafters expressly added that the Act was not intended to place any undue burden on law-abiding citizens who use or make firearms for lawful, private purposes.
ATF enforcement and discretion
The ATF's involvement in regulating homemade firearms is primarily through its regulation of the receiver blanks commonly used to create such firearms. The ATF has exerted enforcement discretion in determining when it believes a receiver blank meets the statutory definition of a frame or receiver under the Gun Control Act of 1968. If a receiver blank is believed to be a frame or receiver, it is treated by ATF as a firearm and subjected to certain controls. The following graphic illustrates the features ATF considers preclude a receiver blank from regulation as a frame or receiver:Conversely, a receiver blank with the following features is considered by the agency to be a receiver subject to control as a 'firearm' under the Gun Control Act of 1968:
U.S. state laws
California
In 2014, the California Legislature passed a bill to require serial numbers on receiver blanks and all other firearms, including antique guns, but it was vetoed by Governor Jerry Brown. However, in 2016, it passed a measure requiring anyone planning to build a homemade firearm to obtain a serial number from the state and pass a background check. From July 1, 2024, "firearm precursor parts" may only be sold through a licensed dealer.Colorado
On January 4, 2022, Mayor Michael B. Hancock signed into law a bill outlawing certain homemade firearms in Denver, Colorado. The law outlaws the creation, carriage, transportation, discharge, and sale of firearms without serial numbers.On June 2, 2023, Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill 23-279 into law. The law bans the manufacture, possession and sale of unserialized firearms and unserialized frames/receivers, effective January 1, 2024. A violation is made a Class 1 misdemeanor, and a subsequent offense is a Class 5 felony. It also provides regulations requiring existing unserialized firearms to be serialized by a licensed firearms dealer by January 1, 2024.