A state lawmaker proposed legislation Monday to make background checks and gun registrations requirements for anyone who builds plastic firearms on a 3D printer at home. The bill by state Sen. Kevin de Leon also would apply to anyone who buys parts that can be assembled into a gun.
It’s part of a growing effort across the country to pre-empt the spread of these undetectable guns.
De Leon said he is trying to address a twin threat from what he called ‘ghost guns’ - plastic guns that can evade metal detectors and unregistered weapons that can fall into the hands of people who are legally prohibited from owning firearms under state law.
‘Currently, no one knows they exist until after a crime has been committed,’ said de Leon, a leading candidate to take over as Senate leader next year.
That was the case for John Zawahri, who assembled his own military-style assault rifle and killed five people in Santa Monica in a June rampage even after he was barred from legally buying a gun in California because of mental health issues.
The bill by de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, goes further than the federal government, which last month renewed for 10 years an existing ban on plastic firearms that can slip past metal detectors and X-ray machines.
His 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 the applicants undergo a background check.
It’s part of a growing effort across the country to pre-empt the spread of these undetectable guns.
De Leon said he is trying to address a twin threat from what he called ‘ghost guns’ - plastic guns that can evade metal detectors and unregistered weapons that can fall into the hands of people who are legally prohibited from owning firearms under state law.
‘Currently, no one knows they exist until after a crime has been committed,’ said de Leon, a leading candidate to take over as Senate leader next year.
That was the case for John Zawahri, who assembled his own military-style assault rifle and killed five people in Santa Monica in a June rampage even after he was barred from legally buying a gun in California because of mental health issues.
The bill by de Leon, a Democrat from Los Angeles, goes further than the federal government, which last month renewed for 10 years an existing ban on plastic firearms that can slip past metal detectors and X-ray machines.
His 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 the applicants undergo a background check.