Ghost Guns on the Rise. Authorities Worried.

Over the past years, many ghost guns have been sold in Florida.

Law enforcement officials from Florida have declared that many ghost guns have popped on the market in the last couple of years. Virtually untraceable, these make-at-home military-grade weapons can easily be purchased off the Internet, and with no questions asked, the authorities added.

The term of ‘ghost gun’ refers to a firearm, whose components do not bear any markings or serial numbers, making it hard, if not impossible, to trace. According to the authorities, these weapons became the delight of firearms rights activists, since they can’t be traced back to the maker or the owner.

Law enforcement officers added that these ghost gun can be purchased legally from the Internet and that most sites don’t even run a background check. What’s, even more, baffling is the fact that there are thousands of websites which sell these kits.

The reason why these ghost gun kits are in the market stems from ATF’s definition of a firearm – no stamp or distinctive markings are necessary if someone constructs a firearm for personal use.

Some gun-maker take advantage of this legal loophole. For example, some gun makers sell of partially complete gun components such as lower receivers. According to the law, since the component is not complete, it does not qualify as a weapon’s component. Therefore it’s totally legit.

However, putting a firearm together is no easy task, and many companies that sell ghost gun rely on this aspect to keep guns out of criminal’s reach. One gun owner declared that assembling a firearm requires skill and specialized machinery and that only experienced gun owners are able to do this.

Unfortunately, many of the ghost guns sold ‘under the counter’, so to say, were used in mass shootings. In addition, the lack of distinctive marks or serial numbers makes it impossible to trace back to the owner or the maker.

Furthermore, according to the authorities from Florida, these ghost gun providers are growing in number. As a result, in the County of Volusia, the local law enforcement officers have identified no less than six distinct gun-makers who sell these ghost guns.

For now, the authorities are trying to track down all vendors. But the is quite hard, considering the fact that there are thousands of websites which sell these ghost guns to anyone.

Image source: Wikipedia

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John Birks

John holds a diploma in journalism from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. He covers the technology, social media, green business, eco-travel, politics, arts culture.