California scrambles to ban ‘ghost guns’ as untraceable weapons’ popularity soars

Concern grows as guns appear in homicides, school shootings and domestic terror incidents

Cities across California are ramping up efforts to try to stop the flow of so-called ghost guns into their jurisdictions, as the do-it-yourself weapons appear with increasing frequency at homicide scenes, traffic stops and community gun buybacks.

As state and federal laws meant to bring ghost guns into compliance with traditional firearm laws await implementation, local officials and prosecutors across California are increasingly resorting to bans and lawsuits to regulate the weapons in their cities.

This article was amended on 30 September 2021 to reflect that San Diego, not San Francisco, was the first California city to pass a ghost gun ban.