The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to outlaw the sale and possession of “ghost gun” kits and parts in the city, marking a key moment in what is emerging as a statewide battle against the untraceable weapons.
The ordinance allows police and the city attorney’s office to go after manufacturers and providers who profit off the sale of ghost gun kits and parts. Officials would be able to build up trafficking cases against them. Each violation or sale of a part would be punishable by a $1,000 fine.
The legislation will now move to a second, perfunctory read by San Francisco supervisors before it’s presented to Mayor London Breed to sign into law, after which it would take effect in 30 days.
The ordinance comes amid a surge in the number of ghost guns found in the city over the past year. In San Francisco, police seized 164 ghost guns last year — a 2,600% increase from the six they confiscated in 2016.
By April 30, San Francisco police had seized 75. San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott told The Chronicle in May that 44% of the recovered guns used in San Francisco homicides were ghost guns, compared to 6% in 2019.
“This massive loophole has allowed ghost guns to become the weapon of choice among those who are otherwise prohibited from obtaining a firearm,” said District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani, who authored the legislation in May, when San Francisco became the first city in the state to introduce such an ordinance.
Stefani said the legislation gives the city the power to hold ghost gun manufacturers accountable “for their role in proliferating violence in our community.”
Anyone can order ghost gun parts without a background check and have them delivered almost anywhere in the U.S. Ghost guns are often shipped in parts or disassembled kits, and online how-to videos show even an amateur how to put together a fully operational firearm in less than an hour. Since the weapons come in pieces, they’re not technically considered firearms and can be shipped without serial numbers and without a background check.
So unlike conventional firearms, which can be traced back to the original buyer if found at a crime scene, ghost guns strip police of a crucial investigative tool.
People who purchase ghost guns parts are required to register the firearm with the U.S. Department of Justice to receive a serial number, which forces the owner to submit to a background check. But because ghost guns are often purchased with the specific intent of committing crimes, critics say, there is little compliance with this law.
The proliferation of ghost guns comes amid a recent spike in shootings in San Francisco, a trend that has tracked with cities across the nation. San Francisco police recently reported a 78% rise in shooting victims over the past year, with 151 victims recorded by the end of August, compared to 85 during the same time period in 2020.
The 2021 figure is also significantly higher than any other time in the past five years, with an average of 104 victims reported during through August between 2016 and 2020.
Last month San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced his office was suing the manufacturers of three companies that make and distribute untraceable weapons, in what is believed to be a first-of-its-kind legal battle.
The suit, filed jointly alongside law firm Keker, Van Nest & Peters and the Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, alleges that the manufacturers violated state laws that require them to apply for serial numbers, and that they misled consumers into believing the firearms — even without serial numbers — were legal.
Megan Cassidy is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: megan.cassidy@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @meganrcassidy
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