SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WAND) – It’s been a week where Democrats on the state and national levels have successfully moved to force tougher restrictions on ghost guns.
Ghost guns are made from parts or kits. They don’t have serial numbers, making them untraceable in a criminal investigation. They can be manufactured using 3D printers.
In Illinois this past Saturday, the Democratic controlled legislature voted at 4:45 a.m. to require ghost guns to have serial numbers. The measure, if signed by Gov. JB Pritzker, would prohibit the sale or transfer of guns without a serial number.
One Republican lawmaker questioned why the bill was being debated saying it is likely to be struck down in the courts. But State Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago), the bill's sponsor, pointed to a law in Nevada which was upheld by a federal judge.
“The federal court upheld the law in its entirety,” Buckner said. “The federal judge said that there is nothing in this law that prevents anyone from exercising their second amendment right to go buy a gun and use it for self-defense. And I contend to you that would also be true in this case.”
President Joe Biden used his executive powers to put in the same restrictions this week on the federal level.
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