Four U.S. Congressional members, including Congressman Gabe Amo (RI-01). have introduced legislation aimed at closing what they say is a “zombie gun” loophole that allows some parts of a gun to be destroyed and resold as a kit.
The Destroy Zombie Guns Act would require gun destruction companies to destroy the entire gun, including the parts used in the kit, in order to prevent it from being potentially dangerous.
“When I worked at the White House as a liaison to mayors across the country, I was often the first person to speak with a mayor after a mass shooting occurred in their community,” said Congressman Gabe Amo, D-R.I., who is co-sponsoring the legislation along with Congressman Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., Congresswoman Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, and Congressman. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
Currently, government agencies across our country are unknowingly fueling a secondary gun market when they send retired, seized, and surrendered guns to gun disposal companies that destroy one small part of the gun and resell the rest, Congressman Gabe Amo’s office shares in a press release. In most cases, purchasers are even able to avoid the most basic requirements, such as a background check. This is the Zombie Gun Loophole. The loophole is one way that guns can end up in the hands of those responsible for gun violence.
“When I worked at the White House as a liaison to mayors across the country, I was often the first person to speak with a mayor after a mass shooting occurred in their community,” said Congressman Gabe Amo. “The rise in gun violence has been fueled by guns flooding our streets that do not belong there. Companies are contributing to this issue by only destroying one part of the weapon and reselling the remaining gun components as a parts kit. It does not take 28 days or a mutated virus for these parts to infect our communities as a new weapon. I am proud to co-lead the Destroy Zombie Guns Act with Congressman Maxwell Frost to require the destruction of the whole gun, not just one part. We must do everything possible to end the prevalence of gun violence in our communities.”
The Destroy Zombie Guns Act has been endorsed by March for Our Lives, Everytown, and Giffords.
The bill’s text can be found here. A video of the entire press conference can be found here or below.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) assisted a What’sUpNewp journalist with the reporting included in this story.
“Zombie guns,” what a load! The “small part” that is destroyed is known as the “receiver” or “frame” for pistols. This is the serialized part of the gun that is legally, per the BATF, considered the gun because it houses and secures all the moving parts of the gun that make it operate. There is not a single gun capable of operating without its frame/receiver, which is why it is the regulated part. Purchasing a receiver is treated the same as purchasing a firearm and requires a background check, because THAT IS THE GUN. Without it, those pile of parts are not legally regulated items. It’s the reason you can walk into a gun store and buy a trigger or a pin or a screw or a spring or a barrel without a background check, because those are not guns.
Parts kits are a valuable source of spare parts; a lot of the kits that are resold are of surrendered old firearms that aren’t in production anymore, that you may not otherwise be able to find parts for if something breaks. You cannot reassemble them into a functioning gun unless you own the (again, regulated) receiver for them. And for the AR15s that are sold, so what? You can go online and purchase every single part of an AR15 except for the receiver without a background check, because those parts are absolutely useless without that receiver!
Emotional fools are pushing this, they hate guns and they don’t care if their rules make sense or make a difference so long as it makes them feel good about themselves.