Illinois becomes first Midwestern state to ban ‘ghost guns’

Amid a surge of violence in the state, Illinois passed legislation banning “ghost guns,” the first state in the Midwest to pass such a law.

The term “ghost gun” refers to firearms that can be assembled at home and kits that allow users to build a non-serialized firearm, meaning they can’t be traced.

“We are seeing these unseralized guns being built in basements by those who should never have had access to such dangerous weapons and then used to commit heinous crimes, and it must be stopped to keep Illinoisans safe,” Pritzker said in a statement.

“The people creating, selling, and purchasing these firearms know that they’re working to circumvent common-sense gun laws that ensure guns stay out of the hands of traffickers, abusers, and convicted criminals,” the governor said.

Pritzker’s office further warned that because ghost guns are cheaper and easier to acquire than other firearms, they “are more accessible to young people.” Already in May, his office said, at least two Illinois teenagers were charged with possession of “ghost guns,” including one case that saw a loaded gun brought to a high school.

So far in May, Illinois State Police have worked on at least 28 cases concerning ghost guns. In a statement, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said a recent string of mass shootings in the U.S. served “as a tragic reminder of the rising toll of gun violence across this country.”

Pritzker’s office noted that President Joe Biden’s administration has taken similar steps to address “ghost guns” by requiring serialization and reclassifying the kits as firearms. In 2021, about 20,000 ghost guns were recovered during criminal investigations, a tenfold increase from 2016, the Justice Department said.

“These guns are weapons of choice for many criminals,” Biden said in a Rose Garden ceremony in April. “We are going to do everything we can to deprive them of that choice and, when we find them, put them in jail for a long, long time.”

Selling an unserialized firearm or gun kit will now be considered a Class 4 felony, which could result in a fine and a prison sentence between one and three years. Anyone possessing or purchasing these weapons would be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor, which could result in fines and a prison sentence less than one year.