Biden aims at ‘ghost gun’ violence with new federal rule

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden is taking fresh aim at “ghost guns,” the privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up in violent crimes. At the White House on Monday, Biden highlighted the Justice Department’s work to finalize new regulations to crack down on the guns. He also announced the nomination of Steve Dettelbach, who served as a U.S. attorney in Ohio from 2009 to 2016, to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Still, the announcement of the new regulation also highlighted the limits of Biden’s influence to push a sweeping congressional overhaul of the nation’s firearm laws.

The White House and the Justice Department argue that regulating the firearms parts and requiring dealers to stamp serial numbers on ghost guns will help drive down violent crime and aid investigators in solving crimes. Gun groups, however, argue that the government is overreaching and that its rule violates federal law.

Congress has deadlocked on legislative proposals to reform gun laws for a decade.