Submitted Photo State Rep. Christopher Quinn speaks during a ribbon cutting recently for the new Strine Dorm at Williamson College of the Trades.

A state lawmaker wants those who build their own guns to get around gun ownership restrictions to face harsher penalties if they are caught.

State Rep. Christopher Quinn, R-Media, has released a co-sponsorship memo asking for support for legislation he is drafting that would increase penalties for those who buy ghost guns – homemade weapons with no serial numbers that are difficult to trace and easier for those with prior felony convictions to purchase and assemble.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro signed on to an amicus curie brief in June supporting federal ghost gun legislation. The Pennsylvania State Police began officially tracking seizure of and recovery of ghost guns from crime scenes in 2021. Philadelphia began tracking these same numbers in 2019. Philadelphia recorded 95 seizures and recoveries in 2019, 250 in 2020, and 571 in 2021. The state police recorded 24 seizures and recoveries in 2021. Combined, there have been 334 ghost guns recovered in 2022.

“No matter how a firearm is obtained – whether it is homemade, stolen from a law-abiding person’s home or vehicle, or purchased through a gun trafficker – when a prohibited person possesses a firearm, that prohibited person has committed a new felony,” Quinn wrote in his co-sponsorship memo. ” But the special risk of ghost guns demands that we deploy special penalties for prohibited persons who possess them, and for those traffickers who sell them illegally. Therefore, my bill will apply special sentencing enhancements to prohibited persons who illegally obtain ghost guns, and further enhancements if those ghost guns are used in subsequent crimes. Further, my bill will apply sentencing enhancements to those who traffick in ghost guns.”

Quinn also wants to increase public education about ghost guns to prevent well-meaning state residents from breaking the law without knowing.

“In addition, my bill will add to the public education about ghost guns,” Quinn wrote. “Pennsylvania law already charges the Office of Attorney General with operating a “Straw Purchase Prevention Program” to provide grants to educate the public about the illegal nature of straw purchasing.

I believe this program should be expanded to educate members of the public about homemade firearms. The benefit of this public education would be to ensure that persons who have reformed their lives, but who still are prohibited from possessing firearms due to their prior misconduct, do not obtain ghost guns for their own protection, thinking it to be permissible, only to unwittingly commit a new felony.”

CHANGING FEDERAL LEGISLATION

According to the Associated Press, the critical component in building an untraceable gun is what is known as the lower receiver, a part typically made of metal or polymer. An unfinished receiver — sometimes referred to as an “80-percent receiver” — can be legally bought online with no serial numbers or other markings on it, no license required.

New federal legislation to limit ghost guns went into effect in late August. Federally licensed firearms dealers in Pennsylvania that sell or distribute partially completed frames or receivers (PCFRs) that would allow a person to build a gun at home are now required to conduct background checks before selling or transferring those parts, which will be completed by the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP).

The executive rules announced by President Joe Biden earlier this year make it illegal for businesses to manufacture gun kits without a serial number and for a licensed gun dealer to sell them without a background check. The decision from the White House will deem the parts sold in the gun kits (such as the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun) as firearms under federal law. In addition, it will also require federally licensed dealers who obtain firearms without serial numbers to add serial numbers.

“We can prevent some of this tragedy by keeping weapons out of the hands of those who can’t pass a background check,” Gov. Tom Wolf said in a recent news release. “Today, thanks to the Biden Administration, we are able to do just that – if you can’t pass a background check to purchase a fully assembled gun, you also won’t be able to purchase the PCFRs to build your own gun at home. This is long overdue, and we’re ready to implement this rule in Pennsylvania immediately.”