Ghost weapons banned below new Colorado legislation signed by governor

DENVER — Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a invoice Friday banning firearms which can be assembled at residence or 3D-printed with out serial numbers, weapons that allowed house owners to evade background checks and impede legislation enforcement’s capability to trace a gun’s origins in an investigation.

The new legislation is the most recent in a slew of gun management measures signed by Polis this 12 months. The state joins 11 others, together with California, New York and Nevada, in regulating the so-called ghost weapons, which have been linked to high-profile mass shootings throughout the U.S.

The use of ghost weapons in crimes has risen 1,000% since 2017, in accordance with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

A gunman in Sacramento, California, who fatally shot his three adolescent daughters, one other grownup and himself at a church final 12 months had been barred from proudly owning firearms, however was capable of acquire a ghost gun.

In Colorado, the particular person accused of killing 5 individuals at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs and one other who wounded two directors at a Denver highschool had possessed ghost weapons earlier than killings, in accordance with authorities.

The new legislation additionally prohibits everybody however licensed firearm producers from creating firearm frames or receivers, which home inner elements. Under a federal gun invoice signed by President Joe Biden final 12 months, producers are already required to place serial numbers on these components.

The Colorado legislation bans the transport and possession of frames and receivers that don’t have serial numbers. The legislation permits those that presently have ghost weapons to get them serialized at a licensed dealership by 2024, although the seller will likely be required to run a background test earlier than giving the firearm again.