Legislators advocate for bill banning ghost guns, untraceable firearms
Lawmakers and community members held a press conference Tuesday morning to back legislation prohibiting ghost guns and other untraceable weapons.
Sen. Jay Chaudhuri (D-Wake) organized the event to garner support for Senate Bill 409: 'Ban Ghost Guns & Undetectable Firearms.'
This measure would prohibit the sale and possession of ghost guns, which are firearms without a unique serial number. Undetectable firearms can be purchased in separate components and assembled at home, or manufactured through a 3D printing process.
Chaudhuri filed the bill in March, when it was initially introduced to the legislature and assigned to the Senate Rules Committee. The bill has not moved since then.
'At the time when the General Assembly is set on passing permitless concealed carry bills… we're ringing the alarm bell about the need to address a real 21st century firearms threat: ghost guns,' Chaudhuri said.
Senate Bill 50, 'Freedom to Carry NC,' would remove the permit process for individuals to carry concealed firearms. This legislation will be heard in the House Rules Committee Tuesday afternoon.
Sen. Val Applewhite (D-Cumberland) collaborated with Chaudhuri on SB 409. She emphasized that the measure is not about infringing on gun ownership.
'This is about untraceable, unserialized weapons, often assembled in basements or garages that are increasingly finding their way into the hands of people with no intention of using them responsibly,' Applewhite said. 'These are weapons with no paper trail, no accountability, and no way for law enforcement to do their jobs effectively.'
Courtney Banks-McLaughlin, a Fayetteville city council member and appointed member of the governor's crime commission, spoke at the conference as a grieving parent.
Banks-McLaughlin lost her 15-year-old daughter, Coryonna Treasure Young, to a ghost gun.
This week, Young would've graduated high school with her peers with her family cheering her on, Banks-McLaughlin said. She had dreams of joining the Air Force and becoming a pilot.
'No parent should have to stand right where I'm standing, no community should have to grieve a child who has a name that will never be called again at a dinner table,' Banks-McLaughlin said.
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