The White House puts a focus on ghost gun control

BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) - President Joe Biden is nominating an Obama-era U.S. Attorney to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (AFT) as his administration also unveiled new executive regulations to rein in ghost guns.

KBTX’s Chief White House Correspondent Jon Decker joined First News at Four to talk about these new regulations as well as a possible new head regulator.

Ghost guns are homemade firearms that can be assembled using a 3-D printer or with kits purchased online. They lack serial numbers, which makes it impossible for law enforcement to trace.

“You can assemble a ghost gun in thirty minutes and you’re good to go in terms of that weapon being able to fire,” explained Decker.

20,000 of these were confiscated by the ATF last year, that’s a 10-fold increase from five years ago. The executive order requires gun manufacturers and resellers to put serial numbers on ghost guns and also do background checks on anyone that purchases these kits on the internet.

President Biden also announced a new nominee to lead the ATF, Steve Dettelbach. During the ceremony that took place in the Rose Garden, Dettelbach talked about the work he has done in going after street gangs. He has experience as a federal prosecutor, and the president believes he can get enough support needed to be confirmed as the ATF director. There has not been a permanent ATF director going all the way back to the Obama administration.

According to Decker, “the difficulty here is getting all Democrats who have varying views on the issue of gun control on the same page.”

Watch the full interview in the player above.

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