When is a Gun Not a Gun?

Ghost guns?

I’ve seen this term tossed about here and there, and frankly, had no idea what it referred to. I thought that perhaps it was a reference to people with 3-D printers who can concoct just about any solid object from plans, using resins that are easily obtained at most hobby shops.

I do have a laser tag gun that bears a remarkable resemblance to a handgun. It is currently buried in a box in a closet.

This article by Rick Kambric starts with his question: When is a gun really a gun?  http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/vernon-hills/news/ct-vhr-blotter-jakub-zak-80-percent-ghost-guns-tl-0816-story.html#

“Jakub Zak, 19, pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to a reduced gun possession charge after police said the teen was in possession of home-built firearms known as ghost guns. In total, he was in possession of five guns in various stages of completion including some that could be fired, police said.”

Here’s the problem: Zak is, under state law, required to have an FOID if he intends to own a weapon, period.  There is no leeway for this. Regardless of age and/or his intentions, not obtaining an FOID puts his possession of these firearms, incomplete or otherwise, into “illegal possession” status.

“The case highlights how the line between a gun part and an actual gun can come down to a few holes.

“A receiver — or the frame of a gun to which most of the parts eventually connect — is legally considered a gun, according to Kreis.

“Federal law allows purchasers to legally buy or transfer parts that are no more than “80 percent” of a gun, according to Kreis. He said a block of metal shaped like a receiver but not fully drilled to accommodate screws or a barrel is considered less than 80 percent of a gun, and can therefore be sold outside of the laws that regulate a completed firearm purchase.”

There are clear images in the lead photo in the article that show the various stages of incomplete and complete receivers, and it is the “complete” receiver with the groove in the metal that is considered to be a firearm by law enforcement. Adding places for bolts and screws increases the “completeness” of it.

Dismissing Zak’s personal bent towards partisan politics, and hanging out at the campus of the College of Lake County, the fact that he had any gun in a near-complete state and had no FOID is what nailed him. What he intended to do is speculation, and I will not do that here.

The article also includes the fact that hobbyists whose interest lies in reconstructing antique firearms such as flintlocks and black powder handguns and rifles can legally  buy the parts for them online and put them together in working order at home, but the fact is that the majority of these people are not disgruntled souls looking for a bone to pick.

I think those guns that Josey Wales carried in that movie are pretty cool. I’d wear those to the store, just for the sheer glamour of it.

There are plenty of people who will buy kits and receivers with serial numbers from gun shops, and build a custom gun for themselves with other parts.

As I said, I have no idea what Jakub Zak’s intentions were in buying these parts or bringing these firearms to completion. However, none of his weapons, complete or incomplete, had serial numbers which is common with the purchases of these online parts. The issue here is that these ghost guns with no serial numbers are frequently stolen from the people who built them, making them untraceable.

This makes it more difficult for licensed gun owners and potential gun owners like me to legally obtain weapons that we want for personal safety. The hysterics that follow this kind of thing, generated and fomented by the media, make it even worse.

What’s the conclusion? Well, requiring serial numbers on those “kit” guns, period would be a start, and I don’t care how much it inconveniences the buyer. There is a video in the article in which one shop owner says that most kit gun purchasers want the serial numbers and will jump through the hoops to get them, because the parts have been tested by the manufacturers.

Otherwise, let’s start with requiring that everyone have gun/weapons training, starting in 4^th grade (or 5^th if they are wienies), that they learn how to do things the right way, and apply for a gun owner’s education license by age 16, just like they required of us for driver’s ed  in high school.

Your learner’s permit meant your sister had to be in the car with you if you wanted to drive to the A&M Root Beer stand down the road, but it didn’t mean you could make the car jump the ditch and scare the crap out of half a dozen hogs while you ripped up 50 feet of hogwire fencing.

No, a gun learner’s permit means that you take the safety classes, watch the ‘don’t do this’ movies while you’re half asleep after gym class, go to the target range with your certified instructor (who has to be at least 48 and a grizzled Army or Marine vet, or no one will listen to her/him), shoot your bullets, get the marks or scores, pass the gun owner’s written test requirements to get your license, and when you go out on the street, you go with a responsible adult instead of your sister until you get sworn in at the recruiting office.

Unless, of course, you guys have better ideas, that’s my solution to it.

Category: Guns