READING – Reading City Council took a historic step Monday to ban the sale or transfer of so-called “ghost guns” – non-serialized firearms made from parts, kits or 3D-printed parts that can be sold without a background check.
The ordinance was introduced with little fanfare and little discussion before a small audience of less than five people, but if it passes at the next council meeting, Reading will be the third city in Pennsylvania to enact such a ban.
The move comes at an unusual time for Pennsylvania, which has strict preemption laws that prohibit local governments from enacting gun laws stricter than state law. But a Commonwealth Court decision in February left a ghost gun ban in place in Philadelphia, setting the stage for other cities to follow suit.
The city of York passed a similar ban in May. And now a vote is pending in Reading.
“When we look at other cities like Philadelphia and York, the fact that they have passed (bans) sets a precedent,” Reading City Councilman Jaime Baez Jr. told the Capital-Star. “The main reason is the gun violence we are experiencing and the inability to track down those guns.”
The window of opportunity for such regulations may be small, however. Gun Owners of America, the Second Amendment group that challenged the Philadelphia ban, has appealed the Commonwealth Court’s decision to the state Supreme Court. And a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court could also impact local laws.
Other cities, however, may be cautiously awaiting the appeal. The Berks County district attorney, for example, warned the Reading City Council last month against enacting such a ban before the state’s highest court rules.
“Any time you restrict someone’s Second Amendment rights, the burden of proof is on the government to prove that there has been a corresponding restriction since the passage of the Second Amendment,” Dennis Skayhan, Berks County’s first assistant district attorney, told the Reading City Council last month, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
Brandon Flood, director of government affairs for the local anti-gun violence group Ceasefire PA, told the Reading City Council last month that he is talking to numerous local officials across Pennsylvania about similar bans, including in the capital city of Harrisburg.
A growing problem
In recent years, ghost guns have become a major issue for both Second Amendment advocates and gun safety reform advocates.
The increasing availability of 3D printers and the proliferation of commercially available kits have increased their adoption across the country. In many states, such as Pennsylvania, these kits can be purchased and assembled at home without a background check.
The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has stated that the number of ghost guns seized by law enforcement agencies each year increased dramatically In recent years, in 2022, about 27,600 cases were reported.
The same applies on site.
For example, the Philadelphia Police Department saw an increase from 12 in 2018 to 575 in 2022.
That is loud a lawsuit by the city against two of the nation’s largest manufacturers of ghost gun kits, Polymer80 and JSD Supply. That litigation ended in a settlement earlier this year and both companies agreed to stop selling ghost gun kits in the Philadelphia area.
Reading Police Chief Eli Vazquez told a City Council committee earlier this month that the number of ghost guns seized by his department annually has increased from four in 2021 to 13 in 2022 and 20 in 2023. So far in 2024, that number is five.
Numerous states have enacted their own ghost gun bans and regulations. According to Everytown USA, a gun control advocacy group, 15 states have enacted some form of ghost gun regulation. States like California and Illinois, for example, require serial numbers and background checks for purchases.
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives passed an invoice In March, legislation that would make it a crime to sell or buy counterfeit guns without serial numbers passed by a vote of 104 to 97. Only three Republicans in the House voted for it, and the Republican-majority Senate has yet to take up the bill.
“These guns are just too accessible,” said Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia), who sponsored the bill. “We obviously don’t want to take those guns away from them. We just want them to be registered, have a serial number, and be accessible to responsible gun owners and not get them into the hands of our children or criminals.”
Cephas cited numerous incidents in Pennsylvania involving ghost guns, including a mass shooting in Philadelphia’s Kingsessing neighborhood that left five people dead last year.
The ATF has also attempted to regulate ghost guns under President Joe Biden. The agency issued a regulation in 2022 that expands the definition of firearms to include ghost gun kits, requires serial numbers, and requires background checks to be conducted when they are sold.
A federal district court in Texas blocked the rule. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case on appeal and has allowed the rule to stand in the meantime.
Ironically, if the U.S. Supreme Court sides with ghost gun advocates and strikes down the federal law, it could strengthen Philadelphia’s defense against the ban before the state Supreme Court.
The ATF proposes regulating ghost guns by defining them as firearms, but Philadelphia argues that the city’s ban should remain in place because they are not firearms.
However, the U.S. Supreme Court has shown little willingness to approve new gun laws, leaving the issue potentially up to state and local governments.
Josh Fleitman, campaign director for local anti-gun violence group Ceasefire PA, recognizes a certain irony.
“The gun rights groups argue that ghost guns are not real guns and therefore should not be subject to the same rules as background checks or serial numbers,” Fleitman said. “We took that logic and said, ‘OK, if ghost guns are not real guns, they are not subject to federal firearm preemption laws.'”
Cephas, the sponsor of the statewide ghost gun law, hopes local regulations will prompt state lawmakers to act.
“I think it sets a precedent,” Cephas said. “Local communities want us to act on an issue that has impacted so many of our lives, whether it’s in rural communities, urban communities or suburban communities.”
