What Preppers Need to Know About the Call to Regulate the Ghost Gun Firearm

As soon as it was reported that UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed with a supposed "ghost gun", we knew what the subsequent headlines would be. A well-intended gun violence group, Every town Research, would claim, "These guns (ghost guns) are the fastest growing gun safety problem facing our country." 

We say "well-intended" because we honestly believe that policy groups as such operate from the view that the government will always be present and capable. There will always be 911 to call and if you hold out long enough, someone will come to save the day. 

Preppers know better and we should be wary of calls to ban what is essentially a citizens ability to arm themselves when the SHTF. With your permission, we'll walk you through everything you need to know about the ghost gun controversy. 

What are Ghost Guns and Why Should Preppers and Safety Enthusiasts Care?

A ghost gun is essentially a homemade firearm that is typically assembled using a kit or 3D printed parts. It is unserialized and you don't need a background check to make one. You just need the gun parts and a little knowhow and voila, you've got yourself a ghost gun.

One of the more common is what is known as the 80% lower. That is the lower receiver of an AR style rifle that is incomplete. The frame or receiver has not been fully milled out and according to the Department of Justice, it might as well be an oddly shaped paperweight at this stage. 

All it takes is the proper equipment to turn it into an active firearm. The authorities hate it because it is untraceable. Bad guys love it because it is untraceable. Preppers have a more pragmatic approach. They see the ability to complete and build a firearm as an essential skill set for the day that most people dread.

Image Source: Howstuffsworks.com

The Rise of Recoveries and Call to Regulate Ghost Guns

From roughly 2016 to 2021 and 2022, authorities have witnessed a tenfold increase in the use of ghost guns during a crime. This has led to rapid backlash against home made firearms. However, the increase is due in large part to the increase in 3D printing technology rather than a coordinated nefarious scheme. 

As with any technology, there was a time where the United States saw zero deaths from motor vehicle accidents. That was before the Model-T. There was a time where airplane accidents were at absolute zero. That was before the Wright Brothers. 

We cannot throw the baby out with the bathwater and assume the advance in technology is the culprit. There is great potential in 3D printing technology and for the prepper, there is great potential in one's ability to manufacture their own firearms. Firearm parts should never be made illegal and nor should the knowledge of what to do with them. 

Image source: Fox5_Washington_DC

How Do Unserialized Ghost Guns Impact Public Safety and Personal Preparedness?

It doesn't take a great deal of imagination to know why a criminal would prefer a firearm without a serial number. Crime scenes are littered with enough evidence as/is, why use a gun whose identity is traceable. 

It is not that we don't empathize with law enforcement and their attempt to grapple with privately made firearms used by dirtbags. Rather it is that guns regulated by the government presuppose that the government will always be capable of doing so. 

At MIRA Safety, we have to consider the day where the government is not functioning enough to ensure safety or regulate guns. Rather, we have to presuppose a world where the ability to make such a gun is the difference between life and death.

When the EMP hits and all you have is an 80% lower, some equipment and enough time on your hands, you can make yourself a firearm. Granted, it's much easier with power, but with enough patience, it is doable. That is a win in our book. 

image source: NBCnews.com

Biden, the ATF, and Calls to Rein in Undetectable Firearms

In early 2021, President Joe Biden sought to serialize unfinished frames and receivers in the same manner as completed firearms. By 2022, the Department of Justice mandated a rule that required ghost gun manufacturers to serialize the parts and conduct background checks on buyers. 

The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms clearly has these weapons on their radar at this point. They should be focused on illicit firearms and explosives purchased with ill intent, but they are instead focused on the technology that is only certain to proliferate. 

For the prepper, it is the technology that we must preserve. What happens when Colt and Remington are no longer there to produce firearms? We fully recognize that privately made firearms were recovered from crime scenes at a higher rate in recent years. However, we don't differentiate that from traceable guns. That they were used for malice by bad actors doesn't make the technology itself evil. 

Let's take body armor for example as our Tactical Level 4 Body Armor is one of our best sellers. Unfortunately, customers in the states of Connecticut and New York face extra hurdles to secure this life saving technology. In Connecticut, online sales of body armor are prohibited. Meanwhile in New York, the purchase of body armor is restricted to certain professions such as law enforcement and first responders. 

Let that sink in for a moment. The ability to stop a bullet from penetrating your body shouldn't be for the few. The right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of not dying from a bullet wound should be universal. So it is with the emergence of 3D printing technology. 

The Role of Ghost Gun Kits and 3D Printing in Firearm Manufacturing

Much like the printing press, cotton gin, automobile, airplane, AI and more, you simply cannot suppress the technology. As it pertains to 3D printing, the genie is out of the bottle. The number of ghost guns is going to increase whether or not the government mandates that these guns must be serialized. 

The government is also concerned that 3D printing technology will lead to a rise in plastic undetectable guns. A gun that can slip past your standard metal detector would be a problem for law enforcement. However, that same gun could also save the life of your family in a post-cataclysmic environment. 

We encourage preppers to know how to forage, grow food, and build a sustainable system to feed themselves  when you cannot no longer count on society to do so. It is the same for your physical safety. 3D printing and 80% lower style kits should be on every prepper's bucket list. 

Gun Laws Will Tighten as Ghost Gun Recoveries at Crime Scenes Rise

As we saw with the assassination of the United Healthcare CEO, every single time privately made firearms without serial numbers are used in a crime the call to ban them will increase. Again, we recognize the challenge they pose to law enforcement and public safety. As such, we're not opposed to a conversation on the best path forward. 

We just can't get behind the prohibition of 3-d printed guns or 80% lower kits and parts. The technology just holds too much potential for the day after most people dread it. When the government is no longer reliable, we have to be able to rely on ourselves. 

Banning these kits would be akin to banning our entire collection of gas masks because one might be used to fend off a SWAT CS gas attack. Yet, this is exactly where the conversation will go and as such, now might be a good time to pick up an 80% lower or 3D printing kit. Grab it now and save it for the day you need it most before they get the ban hammer. 

Ghost Gun Manufacturers Can Be a One Man Show

Another reason to secure the technology for prepping purposes is that your ability to create firearms out of thin air will make you an asset to any post-cataclysmic community. Remember, for long-term survival, building community is an essential element for success. It's not the one man with 1,000 rounds that will win the day. It is the ten men with 100 rounds each who will prevail. 

Just like those with medical skills will be in demand or those who know how to farm, those who manufacture ghost gun parts will be an asset. Forget the fact that they are untraceable ghost guns as in this scenario, there won't be any LEO to track them down. If you can create anything that goes pew, pew, pew, you're an asset to any community. 

Just like it is currently illegal to booby trap your home, after the SHTF people will booby trap away. Any ghost gun rule is null and void when there is no government to enforce it. Do what you need to do to ensure the survival of your family and apologize to no one in such an environment. 

The Bottom Line

As a great deal of our customers are in law enforcement, we truly do empathize with the challenge that a firearm made with untraceable parts can pose. That's we sell top notch body armor to LEO agencies around the world. We are decidedly on team law enforcement. 

However, just like we can't support banning guns, body armor, or gas masks for private use, we can't get behind the ban of 3D technology or 80% lower. The potential in an environment when it is go-time for all your prepping to be put to use is too high. 

This technology is designed for long-term survival as you won't exactly be able to print a functioning firearm when the bad guys are kicking in your door. We know that Everytown Research states that ghost guns are the fastest-growing gun safety problem facing the nation. We also know that it might be the long-term solution when the Remington and Colt websites go down after an EMP attack.

The team here at MIRA Safety supports self sufficiency, full stop. It is true for food, water, medicine and yes, the manufacture of your own firearms. Stay safe out there friends and continue to prepare for the day that most people dread.