'We need help': Pennsylvania looks to crack down on ghost guns to combat gun violence
PHILADELPHIA - As gun violence continues to rise across Pennsylvania, officials declare a plan to get ghost guns off the streets.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf announced Friday that the state is ready to implement new ghost guns regulations.
The new regulations will require a background check for partially manufactured frames and receivers at point of sale.
Dealers and gunsmiths will also be required to serialize and inventory any unregistered firearms that come into their business.
MORE HEADLINES:
- Police: Ride-share driver shot by passenger, crashes car in West Philadelphia
- Man dies from apparent slash to the neck in Bucks County home, police say
- SEPTA sex assault suspect also charged in indecent exposure incidents
Wolf said ghost guns are an "untraceable threat to society" that are being seized and recovered from crime scenes at an alarming rate.
"The numbers don’t lie," he said. "If you want to own a gun, you need to go through checks and balances that are necessary to ensure public safety."
Philadelphia alone recorded 571 seizures and recoveries in 2021, 250 in 2020 and 95 in 2019. So far this year, Philadelphia and Pennsylvania State Police have recorded 147 ghost gun recoveries combined.
"Let's be frank, whether in a school, on a street corner, or at a local mall, gun violence is the number one threat our communities are facing all across this state," said York City Police Commissioner Muldrow.
Tiffany Lowe, a Credible Messenger for York City, called on the state to take action against gun violence.
"We need help," Lowe said. "We need our voices heard, our mission assisted and more people to stand with us, so we can have more graduation and less funerals."
Officials say the Pennsylvania's regulation will mirror the Biden Administration's final rule on ghost guns, which will take place 120 days from April 26.