Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2023.Lawmakers and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg are proposing a change to state law they said would close a loophole to make it easier to prosecute people who manufacture homemade, untraceable firearms, also known as ghost guns.
“We've done many search warrants where we've entered the location and the printers were running, printing lower receivers or printing magazines,” said NYPD Inspector Courtney Nilan. Unlike firearms produced by licensed dealers, ghost guns have no serial number, making it more difficult for law enforcement to track them or connect them to crimes. The push for tighter regulations also follows a recent increase in the prevalence and effectiveness of do-it-yourself firearms, according to prosecutors and police.
The NYPD and the Manhattan DA's office have manufactured their own ghost guns and 3D-printed firearm accessories to learn more about the technology.“Right now, you don’t need a pipeline,” Bragg said. “You can sit at your kitchen table and print out guns and weapons of destruction.”