The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives confirmed Wednesday that its new regulations for so-called ghost guns have gone into effect.
The regulations, approved by Congress, designate gun kits as firearms and bring new regulations for manufacturers and sellers.
For the ruling, guns made from parts kits that can be converted into functional weapons — or the "frames" or "receivers" of weapons — are now subject to the same standards and regulations as other guns.
The other ghost-gun requirements within the ATF's purview include:
- Retailers will be obliged to run background checks before selling parts kits that could potentially be assembled as guns.
- Frames and receivers must now be marked with a serial number.
- Gun retailers and gunsmiths must attach a serial number to guns created on 3D printers, or any nonserialized guns that can be purchased or resold.
According to the Department of Justice, the ATF has been unable to trace many guns that were reportedly accessed in homicides and other violent crimes due to the lack of tracking resources.
"This rule will make it harder for criminals and other prohibited persons to obtain untraceable guns. It will help to ensure that law enforcement officers can retrieve the information they need to solve crimes. And it will help reduce the number of untraceable firearms flooding our communities," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.
DOJ statistics reveal that roughly 24,000 ghost guns were recovered by law enforcement at crime scenes and reported to the government from 2016 through 2020.
In April, the National Rifle Association condemned the Biden administration for what the lobbying group called a vague crackdown on ghost guns.
Andrew Arulanandam, the NRA's managing director of public affairs, told Fox News that the new ruling has little substance and represents a distraction from surging violent crime rates.
An administration that is ''truly sincere and resolute about curbing violent crime rates would do one thing: Take violent criminals off the streets immediately," Arulanandam said.
He added: "Yet the Biden administration allows these criminals who kill and maim with callous and reckless abandon, again and again, to roam the streets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and other cities large and small across our country without fear of prosecution and punishment."
As noted on Newsmax then, Arulanandam argued the regulation was motivated by financial support to Biden from "wealthy gun control supporters."
He also asserted that Americans instinctively know the real problem is Democrats implementing "soft-on-criminal policies."