Biden announces crackdown on 'ghost guns'

President Biden on Monday announced the finalization of a rule banning sales of so-called ghost guns, the hard-to-trace firearms that law enforcement is increasingly recovering at crime scenes across the country.

"It's basic common sense," Biden said during a speech in the Rose Garden with survivors and family members of victims of gun violence in attendance.

The firearms are often assembled with kits that can be bought online or at a store without a background check. They also do not contain serial numbers, making them virtually impossible for law enforcement to trace or regulate. The new rule clarifies that these kits qualify as “firearms” that are federally licensed and subject to background checks, just like commercially made weapons.

The president showed off parts that he said could be used to easily assemble a ghost gun using a hand drill in as little as 30 minutes.

“It’s not hard to put together,” Biden said, adding that “anyone can order it in the mail: a felon, a terrorist, a domestic abuser.”

According to the White House, there were approximately 20,000 suspected ghost guns recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations last year — a 10-fold increase from 2016.

“These guns are weapons of choice for many criminals,” Biden added. “We’re going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice.”

The rule was part of a series of moves announced by the Biden administration Monday aimed at deterring gun crime.

Critics have said the White House has lacked urgency in tackling the issue. The new rule comes nearly a year after Biden, in a Rose Garden speech, declared the country's gun violence epidemic “an international embarrassment” and directed the Justice Department to curb the spread of ghost guns.

The president suggested that the delay in action was because the gun lobby tied up regulators with paperwork.

“The NRA called this rule extreme,” he said. “Is it extreme to protect police officers? Is it extreme to protect our children? Extreme to keep guns out of the hands of people who couldn’t even pass a background check?”

Biden also announced the nomination of Steven Dettelbach, a former federal prosecutor who served under former President Barack Obama, to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after the president was forced to withdraw the nomination of his first choice, gun control advocate David Chipman.

Chipman’s nomination languished in the Senate and was withdrawn in September. Biden blamed Republicans for blocking his confirmation.

But activist groups, including March for Our Lives, have sharply criticized Biden for not making gun control a top priority and for ignoring their calls to establish an independent office on gun violence prevention.

Such an office could be led by someone who does not need Senate confirmation, similar to the White House Office of Domestic Climate Policy, which Biden established shortly after taking office in January 2021.

“While we are pleased with the president’s announcement today, we would have liked to enthusiastically applaud the president for making these moves last spring,” March for Our Lives press secretary Noah Lumbantobing said in a statement. “We await further bold and timely actions from the president to save lives from gun violence soon.”