(HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont is applauding President Joe Biden on his announcement today that he is taking new executive actions to crack down on ghost guns, including through the implementation of a federal rule that will require commercial manufacturers of gun assembly kits to include serial numbers on the kits, similar to those that are required on all other commercially-made firearms in the U.S.
Because ghost guns do not contain serial numbers, they are nearly impossible for law enforcement to trace and in recent years have been often found at crime scenes.
The new federal rule mirrors a Connecticut state law Governor Lamont signed in 2019 (Public Act 19-6) – and proposed to strengthen this year – requiring all firearms manufactured, purchased, received, sold, delivered, or transferred in the state to be serialized.
“Under this commonsense rule, manufacturers of the assembly kits that create ghost guns must treat these firearms just as they would be required to do for any other firearm, closing a gaping loophole that has repeatedly allowed guns to get into the wrong hands,” Governor Lamont said. “While Connecticut has taken significant steps in recent years to address gun violence, the efforts we are taking here only go so far without the support of other states and our federal government. We have a patchwork of gun laws in each individual state, and as they say, we are only as strong as our weakest link. By universally implementing this rule across the entire country, President Biden is taking a strong approach to helping law enforcement in their efforts to track firearms that are used in crimes and get them off our streets.”