Pittsburgh Review

Gov. Tom Wolf recently announced new ghost gun regulations went into effect Aug. 24 to curb gun violence in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The federal rule took effect Aug. 24 and requires federally licensed firearms dealers that sell or distribute partially completed frames or receivers (PCFRs) that would allow someone to build their own gun, to conduct background checks before selling or transferring the parts, according to a press release. The background checks are to be completed by the Pennsylvania State Police.

“Gun deaths are at an all-time high across the nation and right here in Pennsylvania,” Wolf said. “We can prevent some of this tragedy by keeping weapons out of the hands of those who can’t pass a background check. Today, thanks to the Biden administration, we are able to do just that – if you can’t pass a background check to purchase a fully assembled gun, you also won’t be able to purchase the PCFRs to build your own gun at home. This is long overdue, and we’re ready to implement this rule in Pennsylvania immediately.”

The final rule is implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the release. It involves several changes, which includes the definition of the frame or receiver and requires sellers to conduct background checks.

The guns being built are called “ghost guns” and have become a major concern across the country. Philadelphia began tracking seizure and recovery of ghost guns in 2019. The city recorded 95 seizures and recoveries in 2019, 250 in 2020 and 571 in 2021, according to the release.

The Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) started tracking these numbers last year and recorded 24 seizures and recoveries in 2021. To date in 2022, PSP and Philadelphia have recorded 334 seizures and recoveries.

“My office has been sounding the alarm on ghost guns and how they’re becoming the weapon of choice for criminals for years. We tried, through a legal opinion from our office, to implement background checks for these untraceable weapons in 2019 but were quickly blocked from doing so by litigation from the gun lobbies,” said Pennsylvania Attorney General, Josh Shapiro. “For years convicted felons, violent drug dealers, have all been able to buy these guns at gun shows without a background check. With these new federal regulations taking effect today and being implemented in our commonwealth, we are making it harder for gun kits to end up in the hands of criminals and easier for law enforcement to track crime guns in their investigations. All this helps make Pennsylvania communities safer.”

Wolf has been focused on curbing gun violence for a while.

He invested more than $50 million in grassroots, community gun violence prevention programs, signed an executive order that includes creating a Special Council on Gun Violence and vetoed Senate Bill 565 in 2021 which would have removed licensing and background checks for concealed carry permits while overturning Philadelphia’s requirement for an open carry permit, the release stated. He also vetoed House Bill 979 which would have discouraged jurisdictions from regulating firearms and committed $160 million to preventing violence in Pennsylvania communities as part of his final budget.