LOCKPORT, N.Y. (WKBW) — A Lockport gun shop owner is doing what he can to help get ghost guns off the street.
Governor Kathy Hochul signed new laws cracking down on these "untraceable weapons", in October. Hochul signed a landmark legislative package to immediately strengthen the state's gun laws, Monday.
These guns do not have serial numbers and are not registered with the state or federal government.
While the term "ghost guns" is new, the actual object is not.
A ghost gun is a do-it-yourself gun made from parts sold separately, that do not require a background check.
"In the fall, New York State implemented a law that makes it illegal for people to manufacture their own firearms. While, as of now, still legal federally, New York State has banned the production of that," Escarpment Arms CEO, Joe Olscamp said.
Pheben: Talk about what you're doing to make ghost guns legal.
"It's a 2 part. There's a lot of bad info out there when it comes to firearm laws, regulations. Lots of urban legends and camping stories that somehow get passed off as truth. Helping people understand and navigate those things. The second part of it is we're able to as manufacturers, able to finish these firearms, help them pick their own model number, serial number, and make sure that they get that background check before it goes back to the person," Olscamp said.
Gunsmitthing, or a person who repairs, modifies and designs guns can take a couple of hours, according to Olscamp.
The process of returning the gun to the customer once it has become manufactured or turned into a legal gun, all depends on the background check from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Once that is all said and done, gun shops will then input the client's information into a database which is responsible for alerting if this is a prohibited person attempting to purchase it or someone that shouldn't have a firearm.
"The serial numbers that we put on the firearms go into our A&D {firearms acquisition and disposition} log for the ATF. The ATF is able to inspect that anytime. If a firearm was used in a crime, they're able to initiate the trace process," he explained.
So how much will all of this cost to legalize ghost guns at this shop?
Olscamp tells said it depends on type of gun it is and can anywhere from $75 to up to a few hundred dollars.
"When it comes to firearms, they're tools. In the right hands, they're great for protection. Unfortunately, bad people do bad things and we can't really help that. We can just help people and teach them how to be safer and react to those things," Olscamp explained.
