Rep. Kenyatta applauds historic agreement to ban sale of ghost gun kits at Pa. shows
Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta March 15, 2021 | 5:45 PM
HARRISBURG, March 15 – State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta today issued the following statement applauding his colleagues state Rep. Amen Brown and Sen. Anthony Williams, along with the Office of the Attorney General for reaching a historic agreement with Eagle Arms, the state’s largest gun show promoter, to ban the sale of ghost gun kits at its shows.
Kenyatta, who represents Philadelphia’s 181st Legislative District, said that the ghost gun kit ban is a progressive step in quelling gun violence across the commonwealth, especially in Philadelphia.
“I am proud of my colleagues from both chambers and state Attorney General Josh Shapiro for this historic agreement,” Kenyatta said. “Far too many Pennsylvanians have had their lives cut short due to gun violence. We need to make sure these untraceable guns do not end up in the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.”
Ghost guns typically start as 80% receivers that are sold in kits without background checks. They can easily and quickly be put together, lack serial numbers so they cannot be traced, and, once fully assembled, can operate as fully functioning firearms. In Philadelphia, 99 ghost guns were recovered in 2019 and 250 were recovered in 2020. More than 80 have been recovered so far in 2021.
“In 2020, Philadelphia experienced unspeakable carnage because of guns, particularly these undetectable ghost guns,” Kenyatta said. “We’re just 3 months into the new year and we’re still seeing a grim upward trajectory in shootings and gun homicides.
“I am hopeful that this unprecedented agreement puts us on track to passing comprehensive policy that would fully ban the sale and possession of ghost guns across Pennsylvania.”