Stamford moves closer to banning ghost guns

A ghost gun with a 3D-printed part that was taken off the streets of Bridgeport. The gun was showed to the public during a press conference in October 2018. A ghost gun with a 3D-printed part that was taken off the streets of Bridgeport. The gun was showed to the public during a press conference in October 2018. Photo: Contributed Photo / Bridgeport Mayor's Office / Contributed Photo Photo: Contributed Photo / Bridgeport Mayor's Office / Contributed Photo Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Stamford moves closer to banning ghost guns 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

STAMFORD - City legislators are moving forward with their effort to ban homemade untraceable weapons known as ghost guns, following in the footsteps of Bridgeport and acting ahead of the state.

The Board of Representatives voted to hold a public hearing on the measure, tentatively set for March 28. If approved, the ordinance would prohibit anyone within city limits from owning, using or selling do-it-yourself guns made from parts that can be ordered online or created out of plastic using a 3-D printer.

Neither the state nor the federal government has banned the weapons, which are showing up in increasing numbers nationwide. Law enforcement authorities say they are particularly attractive in states such as California and Connecticut, where gun laws are more stringent.

So, around the country, cities and counties are passing their own regulations. Bridgeport enacted a ban five months ago.

The guns, manufactured without serial numbers so law enforcement can’t track them, should not be unregulated, said Jeffrey Stella and Rodney Pratt, both District 9 Democrats on the Stamford Board of Representatives who advocated for the ordinance. Stella is a retired New York Police Department detective and Pratt is a bail-enforcement agent.

“I hope this gets other cities and towns thinking about doing the same,” said Stella, chairman of the board’s Public Safety Committee. “The fact that a person can make a firearm in their home, with no checks and balances, is a threat.”

Rep. Eric Morson, D-13, vice chairman of the committee, said the board should take any action necessary to ensure public safety.

“It’s hard enough to track all the weapons brought into the state illegally, with serial numbers scratched off. These don’t even have serial numbers,” Morson said. “The new technology allows a person to get around gun laws by having parts shipped to them and making guns themselves.”

In California, police have turned up AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles and pistols made by gang members. Felons and people with documented mental illnesses who are prohibited from purchasing guns in California are manufacturing them at home or buying them from others who do so, according to reports.

It is legal to purchase an 80-percent-complete lower receiver, the core piece that holds a gun together. It is legal to purchase a lower receiver without a serial number from someone who is not a federally licensed firearms dealer as long as it is no more than 80 percent complete.

To make a gun, do-it-yourselfers affix the other parts of the weapon to the lower receiver.

Federally, they are legal for personal use but cannot be sold unless the dealer is licensed by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

However, the internet is full of ghost gun retailers and instructional videos for those who want to try making a gun at home.

Stamford resident Kristin O’Neill, a member of the city’s chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, has supported the ordinance as it continues to make its way through the Board of Representatives. The group has chapters across the state, O’Neill said.

“We organized after the Parkland shooting last year,” O’Neill said of the gunman’s attack that killed 17 students and faculty members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. “Before Parkland, people weren’t getting together. But now there’s so much interest.”

The group went to Hartford last year to support a proposed ghost gun ban, but it never got a vote. The state Legislature last year did, however, ban bump stocks, which enhance semiautomatic rifles so they fire about as fast as machine guns.

One problem with municipal bans is they cannot impose criminal charges - only state and federal governments have that authority. Stamford’s ordinance would empower police to seize ghost guns and fine the owner $250 a day. The owner would be able to request an appeal, which would take place within 30 days. If a hearing officer determined a gun to be unlawful, police would be able to destroy it.

Assistant Police Chief James Matheny has said Stamford police back the Board of Representatives’ effort to regulate ghost guns.

Editor’s note: A previous version of this story said the Board of of Representatives had voted to approve the ordinance. Rather, they voted to approve a public hearing on the ordinance.

acarella@stamfordadvocate.com; 203-964-2296.