A California lawmaker proposed legislation Monday to make background checks and gun registrations requirements for anyone who builds plastic firearms, dubbed “ghost guns,” on a 3-D printer at home. The bill, by state Sen. Kevin de Leon (D-Los Angeles), would also apply to anyone who buys parts that can be assembled into a gun, Fox News reports.
These plastic guns can go unnoticed by metal detectors and can be assembled at home without safeguards.
De Leon’s bill goes further than the federal government, which last month renewed for 10 years an existing ban on plastic firearms. The California bill, SB 808, would allow the manufacture or assembly of homemade weapons but require the makers to first apply to the state Department of Justice for a serial number that would be given only after applicants undergo a background checks. The number would have to be engraved on or permanently attached to the weapon within one day of its manufacture, the article reports.
He also plans to amend the bill to require that the guns contain permanent pieces of metal that could be detected by X-ray machines and metal detectors.
The bill would make violations misdemeanors punishable with a fine of up to $1,000 and up to a year in jail for an illegal handgun, or up to six months for a rifle or shotgun.
