On April 11, U.S. President Joe Biden announced new federal regulations to rein in the use of untraceable and privately made firearms known as ghost guns, which are turning up frequently in surging gun crimes and continued mass shootings across the country.

Biden’s new policy measures changed the current definition of a firearm under federal law by requiring the unfinished parts to be licensed with serial numbers. Manufacturers must also run background checks before a sale regardless of how the firearm was made, including ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or 3D printers.

Biden said his administration would also implement a gun crime reduction strategy in four areas, including:

-Cracking down on gun dealers

-Disrupting gun trafficking

-Funding community policing and community violence intervention

-Supporting young people with jobs, training, and re-entering assistance to reduce crimes

The announcement came one year after Biden tasked the U.S. Justice Department to combat gun crimes after mass shootings in the U.S. cities of Boulder, Colorado, and Atlanta, Georgia in 2021. The administration has faced growing pressure to act as gun violence and related deaths surge in the United States. 

Gun violence had plagued the U.S. during the weekend before Biden’s announcement on Monday, April 11. Four shootings had killed 3 people and wounded 25 including 2 teens across Washington, D.C., Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa.

According to statistics shared by the White House, suspected ghost guns in criminal investigations increased by ten times since 2016 in the U.S. The New York City Police Department, for example, has found 131 untraced firearms since January 2022.

Biden nominated Steve Dettelbach, a former U.S. attorney from Ohio, to be the head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The president also called on Congress to do more to address gun violence, such as passing universal background checks.

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