On September 26, 2024, President Biden and Vice President Harris announced a new executive order that combats deadly machine gun conversion devices (MCDs), such as “Glock switches,” and 3D-printed ghost guns, aims to improve active-shooter drills in schools to prevent childhood trauma, and promotes secure gun storage, among other important initiatives.
The measures outlined in the executive order, detailed below, build upon the Biden-Harris administration’s previous efforts to rein in the gun industry and reduce gun violence. For example, in April 2021, the administration tasked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with proposing rules to regulate unserialized ghost guns and short-barreled rifles equipped with arm braces. In June 2021, the administration announced its “zero tolerance” policy, which directed the ATF to revoke the licenses of gun dealers who willfully violate federal law, and in March 2023, urged the ATF to propose a rule to enhance background checks consistent with the updated “engaged in the business” language found in the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
One year ago, the Biden-Harris administration also established the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention. To learn more, click here.
emerging firearms threats
The new executive order establishes an “Emerging Firearms Threats Task Force” consisting of leaders from key federal agencies who will, within 90 days, prepare a report outlining the threat posed by MCDs and 3D-printed ghost guns, the agencies’ “operational and legal capacities to detect, intercept, and seize” these items, and an “interagency plan for combatting these emerging threats.” The report will also “include any additional authorities or funding the federal agencies need from Congress in order to complete this work.”
Federal law prohibits civilians from owning machine guns — and the parts used to create them, including MCDs — manufactured after May 19, 1986. But police have seen an alarming 570-percent increase in MCD recoveries in recent years because they are cheap and easy to manufacture. Many are illegally imported or 3D printed, especially those made by third parties for Glock-style pistols, which are known as “Glock switches.” With a switch installed, a Glock can fire up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
Police said a Glock switch was used in the recent mass shooting in Birmingham, adding to a growing number of shootings involving MCDs. Federal authorities also recently seized over 350 websites that were allegedly used to illegally import Glock switches and silencers from China.
As the White House announcement notes, in addition to MCDs, 3D printing has also made it easier for people — especially those prohibited from possessing firearms — to evade background checks and build their own untraceable ghost guns. Many ghost gun builders have turned to 3D printing after the ATF finalized its ghost gun rule, which prevented retailers from continuing to sell unserialized firearm-building parts kits. The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the ATF rule on October 8.
To learn more about these deadly firearms innovations, click here.
other important provisions
The executive order also directs federal agencies to:
- Issue guidance “to help schools improve drills so they can more effectively prepare for an active shooter situation while also preventing or minimizing any trauma”;
- Provide more information about securely storing firearms and encourage states to address veteran suicides by making it easier for people to store firearms with licensed gun dealers, instead of keeping them at home;
- Provide additional funding for implementing red flag laws and community violence intervention programs;
- Create model legislation and address grant funding to help states improve their background checks systems; and
- Provide more data on gunshot injuries.
The announcement notes that the ATF will publish the fourth volume of its National Firearms Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA) this winter. The report will “provide an update on ghost gun trends,” trafficking investigations, and MCD recoveries. A summary of the third volume are available here.
Finally, in response to a New York Times investigation that found a number of crime guns recovered by police were only partially destroyed before their parts were resold as gun-building kits online, the executive order tasks the Department of Justice with training federal, state, and local law enforcement partners on “best practices” for disposing of seized firearms.