Numbers undercut Biden administration claims on ghost guns

The Biden administration is cracking down on so-called ghost guns to solve America’s epidemic of gun violence but crime stats from major cities and the Justice Department suggest the do-it-yourself weapons are a small part of the problem.

Ghost guns, which are made at home from a kit and don’t include serial numbers, are the target of a new Justice Department rule that would require the kits to include a traceable serial number.

Democrats praised the idea and pointed to cities that report spikes in the use of ghost guns, though DIY firearms remain a small percentage of all firearms seized by police.

That number, however, represents a 93% increase from the 72 ghost guns seized in 2019.

Philadelphia police in 2019 seized 95 ghost guns, accounting for 2.2% of the 4,264 guns they confiscated.

The Justice Department reported that more than 23,000 weapons without serial numbers were seized by law enforcement between 2016 and 2020 and were linked to 325 homicides or attempted homicides.

It’s not clear how many of those weapons didn’t have serial numbers because they were ghost guns.

Instead, they argued that Republicans should focus on the increasing number of seized ghost guns.