Illinois bans 'ghost guns,' making guns without serial numbers illegal to sell, possess

Under a new law signed by Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday, people in Illinois will no longer be allowed to own guns without serial numbers, which supporters of the law call "ghost guns."

Proponents of the law say restricting access to this type of firearm will help reduce gun violence.

One of those proponents is Pamela Bosley, who co-founded the organization Purpose over Pain, which aims to help raise awareness of gun violence, host community events and provide parents of children killed by gun violence with crisis support.

Bosley started the group after her son Terrell was shot and killed in 2006.

"You can take these guns and you can purchase them online, you can purchase them in the store, you can put them together and you could shoot any of us," said Bosley on Wednesday.

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The bill, HB 4383, was passed in the final hours of this spring's legislative session on 31-19 and 66-36 votes in the state Senate and House, respectively. The legislation was sponsored by Sen. Jacqueline Collins and Rep. Kam Buckner, both Chicago Democrats.

"In this year alone, ghost guns have claimed more than 9,000 lives," said Collins.

In 2020, Illinois State Police labs analyzed 62 unserialized guns, according to ISP Director Brendan Kelly. In 2021, ISP's labs analyzed 180 and so far in 2022, they have analyzed 164.

"We're going to double it every year at this rate," said Kelly.

Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives recovered 20,000 suspected "ghost guns," a tenfold increase from 2016, according to an April statement from the White House.

What is a ghost gun?

Anyone caught in possession of a gun lacking a serial number, or a ghost gun, will be charged with a Class A misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class 3 felony for subsequent offenses.

Guns manufactured for sale in the United States have been required to have a unique identification number since the passage of the federal Gun Control Act of 1968.

The Gun Control Act exempts guns built privately for personal use, such as from a kit or, in more recent years, with a 3D printer. Under federal law, people don't need a license to build these privately made firearms for personal use, nor do these guns need a serial number, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

What does the new law require?

Under the new Illinois law, serial numbers will be required to be visible on the "frame or receiver" of the gun, which is the part that contains the firing mechanism.

Owners of these frames, or guns with these unserialized parts on them, will have until Nov. 14, 2022, to take them to a federally licensed firearms dealer, importer or manufacturer to have a serial number put onto them.

The law further restricts the sale of unserialized guns, barring any sale or transfer of this type of gun unless the sale is to a federally licensed firearms importer, dealer or manufacturer. The punishment for violating this is now a state-level Class 4 felony for the first offense and a Class 2 felony for subsequent offenses.

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The ban does not apply to guns that have been rendered permanently inoperable, antiques, guns manufactured prior to Oct. 18, 1968, or to gun dealers.

Prior to implementation of this law, state law didn't specifically regulate serial numbers on guns, according to Melaney Arnold, a spokesperson for Illinois State Police. State law did already ban removing the serial number from a gun that should have had one.

Has the federal government changed its requirements for homemade guns?

In April, the Biden administration announced a new rule clarifying how it will handle the enforcement of gun serial number requirements.

Some products, such as kits containing all of the necessary parts to build a firearm, will be classified as guns, meaning that entities selling these kits will need firearms dealer licenses. These kit guns did not previously require a background check, but will when the rule goes into effect on Aug. 24.

Advocates for Illinois' ban on unserialized guns said the new law goes further than the federal rule.

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What happens next?

The law hasn't gone into effect yet. Owners of unserialized guns have 180 days from Wednesday to add serial numbers to their equipment or risk facing penalties.

Owners of firearms made using 3D printers have less time than traditionally built guns to add serial numbers. They have 30 days to serialize their guns.

The new law also requires Illinois State Police to post a notice to inform and educate the public and gun dealers in the state about the law.

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Some gun advocates say that they're waiting for further clarification about the law.

"We'll have to see how the law is enforced," said Richard Pearson, president of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Pearson added there have been several lawsuits in other jurisdictions with implications on this kind of ban, including ones in California and Nevada.

Advocates who pushed for the law are considering how they will move forward as well.

"Every bill is an incremental step," said Kathleen Sances, president of the Gun Violence Prevention PAC, a group that advocates for gun control measures in Illinois.

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Sances said her group is stepping back from legislative advocacy for the time being to assess how gun laws are being implemented in the state.

"Although we have a Democratic triumvirate, that doesn't mean we have a gun control majority," said Sances, referencing the fact that Democrats control both of Illinois' legislative chambers and the governor's mansion.

Contact Andrew Adams: aadams1@gannett.com; 312-291-1417; twitter.com/drewjayadams.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Illinois ghost gun ban set to take effect this fall. What to know