It's time to ban ghost guns

The tragic shooting in Pawtucket last month exposed a dangerous loophole in our state gun laws that should have everyone’s attention. Right now, anyone who has access to the internet has access to downloadable and unserialized guns — weapons that are impossible to trace and can be legally sold without the background check that’s required for every other firearm purchase in Rhode Island.

 As a police officer, I find it frustrating that anyone could sidestep our common-sense public safety laws to get ahold of a weapon. Not only does it jeopardize the safety of our communities, but it puts law enforcement — the very people meant to protect and serve Rhode Island — at further risk. Without a background check, there’s no way to know if the person purchasing that untraceable gun is prohibited from doing so.

 But there’s good news: Rhode Island lawmakers have already taken steps to address untraceable, undetectable ghost guns by advancing legislation that would close gaps in our law and ensure that these dangerous weapons don’t fall into the wrong hands. We’ve seen our senators take up comprehensive legislation that would prohibit the sale and possession of ghost guns in our state. And we’ve seen a similar bill advance in a House committee and reach the House floor. It’s promising to see such action by elected officials so quickly into session, but it’s imperative this legislation get to the governor’s desk.

 If the tragedy in Pawtucket wasn’t proof enough of how dangerous this gap in our laws can be, other states have also seen the fallout of this dangerous loophole. In California, a state with similarly strong gun laws, three students were shot and killed by a shooter who was able to purchase and assemble a ghost gun. And gun traffickers in New Jersey were charged for conspiring to sell AR-15s they assembled after purchasing parts online, preventing a host of unfathomable tragedies. In this advanced digital age we’re living in, people can build their own deadly weapons and cause horrific damage with the click of a button and the pull of a trigger. To ignore this reality puts us all at risk.

 Regulating ghost guns isn’t just about preventing senseless shootings — it’s about solving them too. The hardest conversations are with parents who have just gotten news their loved ones have been senselessly shot and killed. There are so many immediate questions, and as a law enforcement, families often look to us for answers.

 If they aren’t marked with a unique serial number, guns used to commit horrific crimes do not provide the valuable information we need to do our jobs, tracing that firearm and bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. If ghost guns continue to end up in the wrong hands, that means more mothers, brothers and children will be left asking why and how their loved one was stolen from them too soon and more of these awful crimes will remain unsolved. For that reason alone, we must act.

 When this common-sense legislation progressed in the State House, opponents said regulating ghost guns impeded their rights. But this couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather, it is a safeguard and assurance that there will be fewer dangerous people out there who might threaten our safety and that of our families. Put simply, background checks are a common-sense step to prevent shootings and there’s no good reason why anyone would want to avoid one when purchasing a firearm or firearms parts.

 Rhode Island already has some of the strongest gun laws in the country, and our communities are safer for it. But even one death is too many, and we know that half of all homicides in our state are a result of gun violence. It would be a mistake to stand by and let a loophole allowing untraceable, undetectable guns to fall into the wrong hands remain in our law — especially when the Pawtucket community has already experienced the painful consequences.

 It’s my job to enforce the laws on the books. No matter how clearly dangerous this loophole is to me, I can’t get to work getting ghost guns off our streets until our lawmakers take action. We need to see the legislation in the House and Senate advance to the governor's desk. Lives depend on it.

 Daniel J. Barzykowski is the chief of police in Central Falls.