LANSING (WWJ) — A Michigan Senate committee has pushed through legislation that would ban so-called “ghost guns” in the state.
Ghost guns — which are untraceable because they have no serial numbers and are sold as kits or assembled using 3D printers and do not require a background check — have come into focus in recent days following the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering Thompson, allegedly used a ghost gun in the Dec. 4 slaying in New York City.
Earlier this fall Sen. Mallory McMorrow introduced legislation to require all firearms and firearms parts to have serial numbers. On Tuesday The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony and voted to approve Senate Bills 1149 and 1150.
McMorrow said during Tuesday’s hearing Thompson’s killing “shined a chilling spotlight on the threats these weapons pose to the safety and security of our communities.”
She said anyone — including those prohibited from owning guns under Michigan law — is able to go online and buy a kit and the parts needed to quickly make a ghost gun. The proposed legislation would prohibit the sale of ghost gun parts in Michigan and “ensure that people who pose a threat to the community cannot use this loophole to access firearms,” according to McMorrow.
“To be clear, the legislation before you does not ban guns, but it does prohibit firearms from being ghosts,” McMorrow said.
Tom Lambert, legislative director of the group Michigan Open Carry, testified Tuesday, pushing back on that claim, saying any guns commercially manufactured before 1968 do not have a lawful serial number and tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of such firearms are lawfully owned in the state today.
“As I always say, those who oppose firearms rights don’t know what they’re talking about and they don’t care. Yet again, we’re here today exhibiting exactly that. You heard from the bill sponsor that this bill does not ban guns. That is absolutely false, you’ve been lied to yet again,” Lambert said.
Also testifying against the legislation, Avi Rachlin — who previously used a racial slur during testimony about guns at a Senate committee hearing — brought a ghost gun kit into Tuesday's hearing.
“I feel like we’re all trying to regulate a product that we have no idea what it is. So I actually brought it with me here today," Rachlin said as he sat down and rattled the product in its box. "This is a Polymer80 kit, you can get these online, build it. I was able to walk into the building with this and nobody stopped me, so… this is what it is. If you’re interested in taking a look at it, feel free.”
Prior to speaking, Rachlin was reminded by committee chair Sen. Stephanie Chang to “follow the Senate rules,” a reference to his prior incident.
Ryan Bates, executive director of End Gun Violence Michigan, told WWJ Newsradio 950 after a ghost gun has been assembled from a kit or 3D printer, they are “functionally exactly the same as a fully assembled firearm.”
“This is utilizing a loophole in the law that says if you can turn screws and assemble a gun that way, you don’t have to have a background check,” Bates said, noting it takes about a half hour to assemble and can be done in secret using a 3D printer.
Bates said “criminals use these things because they can’t be traced.”
“When you’re planning a murder, it helps to have a gun for which there is no record,” he said.
Bates referred to Rachlin bringing the Polymer80 kit into the hearing as "a frightening development" and said it demonstrates how easily ghost guns can avoid being detected by security.
Michigan State Police have not commented on the kit being brought onto Capitol grounds.
The legislation was ultimately approved by the committee and now goes to the full Senate. Michigan Democrats are hoping to pass the legislation in the “lame duck” session before they lose control of the Senate and House in 2025.