US President Joe Biden has given the Justice Department a month to craft new rules to curb the proliferation of homemade guns, which are known as ‘ghost guns’ because they are unregistered and untraceable.
The executive order, which Biden said was a response to the ‘international embarrassment’ of the ‘epidemic’ of gun violence in the US, does not need Congress approval.
This forms part of Biden’s efforts to set rules for certain guns, bolster background checks and support local violence prevention, according to the BBC.
Biden is also giving the Justice Department two months to come up with a rule on stabilising braces for pistols. Under the rule, a pistol used with a stabilising brace would be classified as a short-barrelled rifle, which requires much more stringent background checks under the National Firearms Act.
The pending curbs on ‘ghost guns’ arise from the fact that these guns are self-assembled, which means they do not contain a serial number and cannot be traced. Background checks are also not required to purchase the assembly kits.
According to the BBC, experts say that these homemade guns are increasingly being used in crimes. Over 40% of guns being seized in Los Angeles are ghost guns, according to federal firearms officials.
Biden said: ‘Anyone from a criminal to a terrorist can buy this kit and, in as little as 30 minutes, put together a weapon.’
Hours after the president’s address, a gunman killed one person and injured five others at a cabinet-making shop in Bryan, Texas. A state trooper was also shot and injured while taking the suspect into custody.
On Wednesday, five people, including two young children, were killed in South Carolina. The suspect has been named as former NFL player Phillip Adams.
This followed two mass shootings in March, which left a total of 18 people dead – one in Boulder, Colorado and the other in Atlanta, Georgia.
Biden’s proposed measures have been praised by the gun-control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, but the National Rifle Association, the biggest gun rights lobby group in the US, described the measures as ‘extreme’ and said it was ready to fight.