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An Act Relative to 3D Printed Weapons and “Ghost Guns”

Lead Sponsor: Rep. David Paul Linsky & Senator James B. Eldridge

Impetus

A thirteen-year-old builds a dozen firearms in his home. A Cambridge resident, who has no gun license, has thirty guns built from kits purchased online. A gun found at a crime scene is untraceable because it has no serial number. Massachusetts has long been known for its seriousness regarding gun control, but recent technological developments have made possible the creation of untraceable “ghost guns” using 3D printers, as well as the possibility of assembling a firearm from separately purchased component parts. In addition to the dangers to the public posed by unregistered and untraceable firearms, such weapons pose a particular risk to the user due to the fact that improper assembly or the use of plastic parts makes them likely to explode on use. In many cases, however, the assembly of a firearm from parts purchased online violates no state of federal law. Unless the Commonwealth can regulate the manufacture of 3D printed weapons and ghost guns, and can appropriately punish the unlawful manufacture and distribution of these weapons, we risk being overrun by a wave of untraceable “do-it-yourself” firearms. Worse, we risk many of those guns being in the hands of people who might otherwise be ineligible to obtain firearms legally.

Need

The definitions set forth in G.L. c. 140, § 121, which defines the various categories of firearms, do not encompass 3D printed or other untraceable ghost guns. Because gun parts are not considered guns, a gun may be shipped to a buyer when it is 80% assembled without any need to notify law enforcement or possess a license; the buyer then completes the assembly at home. Therefore, such weapons risk escaping the regulations and prohibitions of chapter 140 because they simply do not qualify as regulated weapons under the statute. This legislation brings the statute into line with new technologies.

Legislative Fix

  • Amends G.L. c. 140, § 121 to include definitions of “assembly,” “manufacture” and “frame or receiver” and to clarify that the definition of firearms includes frames or receivers and other 3D printed or do-it-yourself assembled guns.
  • Adds section 122E to the same chapter, prohibiting the manufacture or assembly of firearms that do not bear serial numbers; unlicensed 3D printing of firearms or their component parts; distribution of computer code or instructions for 3D printing of firearms to unlicensed persons; manufacture or assembly of firearms that are not detectable by metal detectors or other common security screening measures; and requiring a persons who manufactures or assembles such a firearm to notify CJIS within 30 days and provide identifying information regarding the firearm and its owner.