"Ghost Guns" Bill Gets Unanimous Approval From County Council

ROCKVILLE, MD — The Montgomery County Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve a bill restricting people from manufacturing, possessing, selling, or transferring "ghost guns" to minors. It also bars these guns within 100 yards of a place of public assembly.

Ghost guns have come under fire from county lawmakers because they are built by unlicensed individuals, aren't entirely prohibited by federal and state laws, and are virtually untraceable. These unserialized, do-it-yourself weapons can also be made at home with a 3-D printer and a building kit you can buy online.

The all-Democratic County Council contends the new legislation — called the "Ghost Guns Bill" — will keep these weapons off the streets and out of the hands of minors.

"They're marketed often as a hobbyist item. But we know they have very serious ramifications and consequences," Council Vice President Gabe Albornoz, who spearheaded the bill, said Tuesday. "Over 40 ghost guns were confiscated by our Montgomery County Police Department last year, as compared to less than six the year before that."

Albornoz said the bill achieves three things:

• It will clearly identify the term "ghost gun" based on definitions established on state and federal levels
  • It will define ghost guns to include "firearms, including unfinished frames or receivers, that are unserialized in accordance with federal regulation" ... and guns that cannot be detected through metal detectors
• It will provide a civil citation to violators
• It will "maximize the impact of the county's firearms regulations by expanding the definition of 'place of public assembly'"
  • That will include any publicly or privately owned place where the public can assemble, such as parks, places of worship, public libraries, fairgrounds, and conference centers

Click here to read the Council's staff report.

Click here to watch the virtual press conference regarding the bill.