There is a nationwide crackdown on so-called ghost guns as the Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to continue to regulate the untraceable firearms, while a case attempting to block the move makes its way through the courts.
But while the case moves, Senator Richard Blumenthal is taking aim at ghost guns with legislation. On Tuesday, he introduced a bill to regulate the sale and manufacturing of ghost guns by requiring things like serial numbers and background checks.
The city of Hartford is in support of the legislation given the violence they have experienced so far this year.
“As an investigative tool, we have to be able to trace these firearms," Police Chief Jason Thody said.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
Hartford police are calling ghost guns in the city an emerging threat. They cited the seizure of “ghost guns over the years.”
In 2020, just under 3% of firearms recovered in the city were ghost guns, but that number climbed. Last year, Hartford police said 16% of firearms recovered were considered ghost.
“They are one of the most significant dangers that we are dealing with when it comes to gun violence," Thody said.
Local
A University of New Haven professor confirms ghost guns are an emerging threat and their numbers are increasing, but isn’t sure new regulation will have the exact impact lawmakers are hoping for.
“Will this affect the crime rate? I doubt it very seriously," Ken Gray with the University of New Haven said.
He said statewide, in 2020, only eight ghost guns were recovered here in Connecticut, and from 2021 to 2022, 58 were recovered.
The sharp increase Hartford police are grappling with, but not the main threat to people in Hartford.
“This is really an emerging threat, it’s not the biggest threat out there," Gray said.
Gray says illegally sold and stolen firearms continue to significantly outpace ghost guns for usage in crime.
But community advocates in Hartford are celebrating the proposed legislation hoping it will play a part in keeping the community safer.
“It’s the inner-city youth that these guns are impacting, inner city youth, these guns are being sold in our streets daily… daily," Henry Brown with Mothers United Against Violence said.
But others are pushing back on the proposed rules. The Connecticut Citizens Defense League released the following statement:
“Connecticut has had "ghost gun" laws for years yet crimes continue to be committed in our state by those in unlawful possession of firearms of all types. Until politicians get serious about going after actual criminals and appointing judges who uphold penalties, crimes committed with guns both serialized and not will continue to occur. However, the absolute fact remains that only law-abiding individuals, not criminals, will follow the feel-good legislation they are proposing. The craft of gunsmithing is still alive and well in America. It's key to the innovation of safer and more accurate firearms and sweeping restrictions limiting gunsmithing will hinder that development. This proposal is misdirected and will not affect criminals who have no regard for the law.”
