Lawmakers Take Aim at Ghost Guns and Traffic Safety

On Wednesday the Homeland Security, Justice and Public Safety Committee addressed several public safety measures, with particular focus on ghost guns and traffic safety regulations.

The committee, chaired by Sen. Kenneth L. Gittens, heard compelling testimony from Criminal Chief H. Timothy Perry of the Virgin Islands Justice Department regarding Bill No. 35-0419, dubbed the “Virgin Islands Firearm Serial Number Regulation Act.” Perry characterized the legislation as the “Closing the Ghost Gun Loophole Act,” addressing a growing concern in both the territory and nationwide.

Ghost guns, as Perry explained, are firearms manufactured without serial numbers, making them untraceable by law enforcement. Unlike traditional firearms, which have been required by federal law since 1968 to bear serial numbers, ghost guns are intentionally produced as component parts that can be assembled into fully functional weapons while evading existing regulations.

The urgency of this legislation was underscored by alarming statistics presented during the hearing. According to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, law enforcement agencies nationwide witnessed an astronomical increase of over 1,000 percent in ghost gun recoveries between 2016 and 2021. The numbers jumped from 1,758 ghost guns in 2016 to more than 19,000 in 2021, with these weapons being implicated in approximately 700 homicides or attempted homicides.