Untraceable 3D-printed guns are now an epidemic, and the GOP is making it worse
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Bryan Muehlburger is considered an expert on ghost guns—but never asked to be one. On a Thursday morning in 2019, his 15-year-old daughter was waiting for friends at Saugus High School in California. Children’s backpacks were scattered across the quad wheUntraceable 3D-printed guns are now an epidemic, and the GOP is making it worse
Bryan Muehlburger is considered an expert on ghost guns—but never asked to be one. On a Thursday morning in 2019, his 15-year-old daughter was waiting for friends at Saugus High School in California. Children’s backpacks were scattered across the quad when he arrived at the school, as they had dropped them to flee from a school shooter. One of the doctors at the scene sat Bryan down to deliver the news. “I just remember sayin', you know, like, ‘Please, no. Don't, don't tell me the bad news, please.’" The shooter was Nathaniel Berhow, a 16-year-old high school junior. He killed two students and wounded three more before turning the gun on himself. Gracie Muehlburger was shot through the back. Nathaniel wasn’t supposed to have a gun as he was underage, but neither was his father, a gun enthusiast who had all guns removed from his home while being detained for a psychiatric evaluation. The father turned to obtaining “ghost guns,” one of which was taken by Nathaniel, who put it in his backpack along with the lunch his mother made for him. Bryan Muehlburger has fought to regulate these weapons ever since. “Ghost guns” are untraceable, homemade handguns or AR-15s that can be easily built through kits or 3D printers. They are called ghost guns because there is no serial number that can be traced, which is why their use in crime scenes has soared across the U.S. In cities like Los Angeles and Baltimore, ghost guns recovered at crime scenes have increased by over 400% in a three-year timespan, and are still growing. Worst of all, right-wing opposition has ensured there will be no federal legislation to handle this threat. Regulation on these untraceable weapons amounts to “an attack on the firearms industry,” which is also why there is no state legislation in 41 states. Unfortunately, this epidemic will get far worse if action isn’t taken, which is precisely the goal of the NRA and its allies in Congress. Read more
