Making, possessing ‘ghost

Legislature to pass bill

BY ELLIOTT WENZLER THE COLORADO SUN

Making, possessing and selling so-called ghost guns, the untraceable homemade weapons linked to several recent high-pro le Colorado shootings, will likely soon be illegal in the state.

Democrats in the state legislature Wednesday introduced a measure outlawing the rearms as part of their package of bills this year aimed at curbing gun violence in Colorado.

When guns are made by licensed manufacturers, they are required to have an engraved serial number. If that type of weapon is used in a crime, investigators can trace where it was purchased and by whom.

Additionally, anyone purchasing a gun in Colorado must go through a background check.

But the proliferation of make-ityourself gun kits and 3D printers has allowed an unknown number of untraceable rearms to be produced by people who are able to skirt Colorado’s universal background check system.

Under the bill, which is set to be introduced in the state Senate, people who already own rearms that have no serial number will have until the start of 2024 to have them engraved with a serial number by a licensed dealer. at transaction would require a background check and recording of the serial number.

e bill would also outlaw the purchase and possession of any un nished rearms that don’t have serial numbers and can be easily assembled, and it would outlaw devices that would let semi-automatic ghost guns re at a rate similar to an automatic weapon.

Under the bill, people found to have created or be in possession of an unserialized rearm or gun frame would face a Class 1 misdemeanor for a rst o ense, punishable by up to 364 days in jail, and a Class 5 felony, punishable by up to three years in prison, for subsequent o enses.

“What we’re going to be doing is interrupting access to guns,” said Sen. Rhonda Fields, an Aurora Democrat. “It’s a very popular weapon for criminals to use because you don’t have to go for a background check. So we’re about to put