San Francisco could become first California city to ban 'ghost guns'

A worker shows off Glock 19 Donald Trump commemorative 9mm pistol being offered for sale.(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

By Sri Ravipati

(SAN FRANCISCO) A San Francisco supervisor is looking to make the city the first in the state to completely ban the possession and sale of ghost gun kits and parts.

At the city's Board of Supervisors Meeting on Tuesday, District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani is introducing California's first complete ban on ghost guns.

"For too long the unregulated sale of ghost guns kits has wreaked havoc on our communities — that stops now," Stefani tweeted.

Ghost guns can be bought without a background check and be legally shipped to almost anywhere in the U.S. These self-assembled and untraceable firearms are increasingly being linked to Bay Area gun violence by law enforcement.

In San Francisco last year, 44% of the recovered guns used in homicides were ghost guns, compared to 6% in 2019, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

"The 27-fold increase in the number of ghost guns we’ve been confiscating over the last five years is alarming, and I’m concerned that it’s only the tip of the iceberg," San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott told CBS San Francisco.

Scott supports Stefani’s ordinance, which would change the city’s police code to prohibit anyone other than a licensed manufacturer from buying, selling, transferring or owning ghost gun parts that haven’t been imprinted with a serial number.

Those who buy and put together ghost guns have 10 days to register with the U.S. Department of Justice to get a serial number, undergoing the same background check as any other gun.

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