YORK, Pa. — York City Council passed a bill Monday evening that aims to curb the presence of unregulated firearms, also known as "ghost guns" in the city.
City leaders unanimously passed Bill 14 which would ban the weapons in the city. It’s just another step city leaders say they are taking to make York safer.
"Any individual can have one in their hands, and we cannot track it and we cannot trace it," York City Council President Edquina Washington said.
The legislation creates new restrictions on the possession, use, transfer, or manufacturing of so-called “ghost guns.” They are labeled as homemade weapons that can be made with a 3-D printer or assembled from a kit bought online, without a license or background check.
According to Brandon Flood, the Deputy Director of Government Affairs for CeaseFirePA, the presence of ghost guns is shooting up nationwide.
"These types of weapons are being recovered at an alarming rate, and are growing in popularity amongst our youth," Flood said.
City leaders say they've found a number of these weapons in the city during York City Police commissioner Michael Muldrow's tenure, and want to get that number to zero.
"He's gotten over 20 guns that he has retrieved here in York," Washington said. "Although those are only over 20 that he has retrieved, it does not mean that's the amount on the streets and I believe that one is too many."
A similar bill that would establish the same restrictions is currently in committee in the State Senate.
Violators of the proposed bill could face fines of up to $1,000 and/or 90 days in jail.
This bill does not ban people from building their own guns.
"This ordinance, if enacted, would not prevent those who can lawfully possess a firearm from lawfully being able to privately make firearms," Flood said.
Mayor Michael Helfrich has 10 days from the final passage to sign the bill and, if he does, it will go into effect 20 days after.
"Anything we can do as a council to make sure safety parameters are put in place is the best thing we can do," Washington said.
At this moment, Philadelphia is the only city in the state to have a ban on Ghost Guns, after the State Supreme Court upheld its 2021 ordinance this year.
A report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) found that between 2016 and 2022, more than 72,000 suspected ghost guns had been recovered by law enforcement. Of that, more than 1,200 were connected with homicides and attempted homicides.