Reading could become third Pennsylvania city to ban ghost guns after court ruling

A ghost gun is displayed before the start of an event about gun violence in the Rose Garden of the White House April 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Joe Biden announced a new firearm regulation aimed at reining in ghost guns, untraceable, unregulated weapons made from kits. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

READING – The Reading City Council took a historic step Monday to ban the sale or transfer of so-called ghost guns — unserialized firearms made from parts, kits or 3D-printed pieces that can be sold without background checks.

The ordinance was introduced with little fanfare or discussion, before a small audience of less than five. But if it passes at the council’s next meeting, Reading will become the third Pennsylvania city to enact such a ban.

The move comes at a unique time for Pennsylvania, which has strong preemption laws barring local governments from enacting firearms regulations that are stricter than state law. But a February Commonwealth Court decision allowed a Philadelphia ghost gun ban to stand, setting the stage for other cities to follow.

The city of York enacted a similar ban in May. And now Reading is set to vote.

“When we look at other cities like Philadelphia and York, the fact that they have passed [bans] sets precedence,” Reading City Councilor Jaime Baez Jr. told the Capital-Star. “The main reason is because of the gun violence we’re seeing and not being able to trace those guns.”

The window for such regulations, however, may be small. Gun Owners of America, the pro-Second Amendment group that challenged Philadelphia’s ban, has appealed the Commonwealth Court decision to the state Supreme Court. And a pending case before the U.S. Supreme Court could also have an impact on local laws.

But other cities may be exercising caution as they wait for the appeal. The Berks County district attorney, for example, cautioned the Reading City Council last month against enacting such a ban before the state supreme court rules.

“Any time you restrict someone’s Second Amendment rights, the burden will shift to the government to prove that there is a commensurate restriction going back to the time that the Second Amendment was enacted,” Berks County First Assistant District Attorney Dennis Skayhan told Reading City Council last month, referring to a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

Brandon Flood, director of government affairs with the local anti-gun violence group Ceasefire PA, told the Reading City Council last month that he is talking to numerous local officials across Pennsylvania about similar bans, including in the capital city, Harrisburg.

A growing problem

Ghost guns have become a major issue among Second Amendment and gun safety reform advocates alike in recent years.

The growing availability of 3D-printers and the proliferation of commercially available DIY kits have increased their prevalence across the country. In many states, like Pennsylvania, those kits can be purchased without a background check and assembled at home.

The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has said the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement annually has increased dramatically in recent years, with roughly 27,600 reported in 2022.

The same is true locally.

For example, the Philadelphia police department saw an increase from 12 in 2018 to 575 in 2022.

That’s according to a lawsuit filed by the city against two of the largest manufacturers of ghost gun kits nationwide, Polymer80 and JSD Supply. That lawsuit ended in a settlement earlier this year and both companies agreed to stop selling ghost gun kits in Philadelphia and the surrounding area.

Reading Police Chief Eli Vazquez told a city council committee earlier this month that the number of ghost guns seized by his department has increased annually from four in 2021, to 13 in 2022, to 20 in 2023. That number stands at five so far in 2024.

Numerous states have enacted their own bans and regulations on ghost guns. According to Everytown USA, a gun control advocacy group, 15 states have enacted some form of ghost gun regulation. States like California and Illinois, for example, require serial numbers and background checks for purchases.

The Pennsylvania House passed a bill with a 104-97 vote in March that would make it a felony to sell or purchase ghost guns without serial numbers. Only three House Republicans voted in favor of it, and it has yet to be taken up by the Republican-majority state Senate.

“These guns are just too easily accessible,” said Rep. Morgan Cephas (D-Philadelphia), the bill’s sponsor. “We don’t want to obviously take these guns away. We just want them to be registered, have a serial number, and to ensure that responsible gun owners have access to this and they’re not getting into the hands of our kids and bad actors.”

Cephas cited numerous Pennsylvania incidents involving ghost guns, including a mass shooting in the Kingsessing neighborhood of Philadelphia that left five people dead last year.

The ATF under President Joe Biden has also attempted to regulate ghost guns. The agency wrote a rule in 2022, expanding the definition of firearm to include ghost gun kits, requiring serial numbers, and for background checks to be conducted on their sale.

A Texas federal district court blocked the rule. But the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to take up the case on appeal and allowed the rule to stand in the meantime.

Ironically, if the U.S. Supreme Court sides with ghost gun advocates and overturns the federal rule, it could strengthen Philadelphia’s defense of its own ban before the state Supreme Court.

The ATF proposes to regulate ghost guns by defining them as firearms. But Philadelphia’s argument is that the city’s ban should stand because they’re not firearms.

The U.S. Supreme Court, however, has shown little willingness to allow new gun regulations. And that may leave the issue with state and local governments.

Josh Fleitman, campaign director with the local anti-gun violence group, Ceasefire PA, sees a certain irony.

“The gun rights groups, they argue that ghost guns are not real guns, and that’s why they should not be subjected to the same rules like requiring a background check or requiring serial numbers,” Fleitman said. “We ran with that logic, and we said, ‘OK, if ghost guns are not real guns, then they are not subject to the state preemption law on firearms.’”

Cephas, the sponsor of the statewide ghost gun bill, hopes that local regulations push state lawmakers to act.

“I think it’s setting a precedent,” Cephas said. “It is local communities wanting us to act on an issue that has impacted so many of our lives, whether that be in rural communities, urban communities, or suburban communities.”

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