By Chantal Da Silva -
NBC News
Illinois has become the first state in the Midwest to pass a law banning
untraceable
ghost weapons , amid a rise in gun violence in the United States.
On Wednesday, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed House Bill 4383, which bans so-called
ghost guns
statewide.
[YouTube banned “ghost gun” videos. But their platform still hosts dozens with millions of views]
The term refers to firearms that can be assembled at home from parts that can be purchased online without background checks, according to the gun violence prevention organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
They do not have serial numbers, which makes them untraceable.
“We are seeing these unnumbered weapons being built in basements by those who should never have had access to such dangerous weapons and then being used to commit heinous crimes, and this must be stopped to keep Illinoisans safe,” Pritzker said in a statement. a statement.
"The people who create, sell and buy these firearms know they are skirting common-sense gun laws that ensure guns stay out of the hands of dealers, abusers and convicted felons," the governor said.
Pritzker's office further warned that because
ghost guns
are cheaper and easier to acquire than other firearms, "they are more accessible to young people."
In May, his office said, at least two Illinois teens were charged with
ghost gun
possession , including one case in which he brought a loaded gun to a high school.
[Boy Trying To Sell 'Ghost' Gun Kills His 14-Year-Old Sister By Shooting Robbers]
Meanwhile, the Illinois State Police have worked on at least 28 cases involving
ghost weapons
so far in May alone, Pritzker's office said.
New York to make it easier to trace firearms and ammunition after Buffalo massacre
May 18, 202200:22
Earlier this year, the Biden administration stepped up efforts to tackle ghost gun use, reclassifying ghost gun construction kits as firearms and requiring their serialization.
In a statement, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon (D-Oak Park) said the recent string of mass shootings in the United States served “as a tragic reminder of the growing number of victims of gun violence across the country. ”.
[Will a “smart gun” finally hit the market?]
On Saturday, 10 people were killed and three others wounded in a mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket that authorities say was racially motivated.
The next day, one person was killed and five others were injured in a shooting as Asian churchgoers gathered at the Geneva Woods Presbyterian Church in Southern California.
The two shootings, along with others that have occurred in recent days, have raised new alarm about gun violence and hate crimes in the United States.
'Ghost weapons' seized in federal law enforcement actions at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) field office in Glendale, California, on April 18, 2022. Robyn Beck / AFP via Getty Images
On Tuesday, Biden said he would not give up on efforts to curb gun violence, as the president has pledged to work to end the "epidemic of gun violence" in the United States as part of his 2020 campaign. However, he said, "I have to convince Congress."
"Part of what the country has to do is look in the mirror, that's the reality," he said, according to the Reuters news agency, as he left Buffalo after meeting with relatives of those killed or injured in Saturday's shooting.
“We have a problem with domestic terrorism.
It's real,” he stated.