Hollywood is at the epicenter of a relatively new phenomena, “Ghost Guns”. These are home made guns that gang members are resorting to because they can’t buy guns legally due to the fact that due to background checks they are labeled felons or mentally challenged. Stealing guns has been the most prevalent method for obtaining guns, but as that becomes more difficult, another, easier method has gained traction. Gang members can purchase the parts through unlicensed individuals, or even online and convert them to semiautomatic rifles or pistols with a few adjustments.
“An unfinished lower receiver, sometimes referred to as an “80% receiver,” can legally be purchased without a serial number from a seller who is not a federally licensed firearms dealer as long as it is missing the key components that would make it a firearm.” And those additional components can be purchased separately. It’s a quirk in the law and California is the hub.
Building your own gun means it is unregistered, untraceable, and has no serial number. It is easy to build, takes little knowledge of guns or powertools, and is completely unregulated. Because you are buying ‘components’, even in Liberal Hollywood anyone can legally make the purchase without a background check.
Governor Jerry Brown nipped this loophole in the bud when he passed a new law requiring everyone making a homemade gun to request a serial number from the government first. I’m sure all the gang members rapidly filled out their registration forms… In addition, effective January 2018, Brown passed a law making the sale of ammunition subject to a background check. With one exception: the sale of up to 50 rounds to any family member is not subject to the law… Why? What is the point of an exception?
Despite these laws, two California cities remain in the top ten for crime rates; Stockton and Oakland. Still, Detroit, St. Louis and Baltimore hold the dubious honor of being the most violent cities in the US despite strident gun laws.
Ironically, Obama’s term registered one of the highest record in gun sales with 65.4 million during his first term alone or 91% more than Bush’s first term. The two dominant type of firearms purchased during the Obama administration – AR15, and handguns, with women dominating the personal handgun market. In anticipation of a Hillary win, gun manufacturers made 11.5 million guns in 2016, twice as many as in 2009. The notion that Hillary would valiantly curb gun sales because that is the correlation…
During the Obama administration 254 died from mass shootings (Shootings where more than 10 died), and another 318 were injured. That is more than ALL mass shootings combined before his Presidency dating since 1949! A USA Today statistic states that mass shootings in which 4 or more died during the period between 2006 and 2017 (overwhelmingly Obama) accounted for 1358 victims (deaths and injuries).
Why did mass shootings rise so exponentially during the Obama administration, a Liberal who enforced higher gun control laws? According to FBI statistics, in 2016, Obama’s legacy showed nearly an 8% increase in the homicide rate and a 3.4% increase in violent crime. In 2015, the homicide rate increased by 11.4%. In fact during his tenure nearly all crimes increased. What would be the motivation? Gun ownership? Hardly.
Legal gun ownership in the US is determined to be encapsulated in only 20-30% of the population given they own multiple weapons. In 1991, the percent of households in the US that owned guns was 29%. Effectively these percentages reveal that legal gun ‘ownership’ is a non-sequitur to murder rates and violent crimes. And in fact, it shows that since 1991 gun ownership – is a flat percentage.
This statistic would be similar to gun ownership in much more restrictive countries like Australia, where the rising gun ownership is in those that already own guns.
Illegal guns account for 94% of gun crimes. We know of two mass shootings that involved Ghost Guns. But the gang violence has no statistics for Ghost Gun usage. Tracking this phenomena is difficult although in 2015 the ATF estimated there were over 500,000 Ghost guns in California alone.
Both New Jersey and California are now trying to regulate gun parts. But the measure is incredibly broad and could easily implode as definitions are loosely applied.
What we can conclude is that during Obama’s legacy not only did race issues rise exponentially, but alas so did crime, gun sales, and oh – health insurance premiums (I know, not related).