Lawmakers advance bill to bar manufacture of ‘ghost guns’

TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey lawmakers are advancing a measure to prohibit the purchase of firearms parts used to make untraceable weapons, or so-called ghost guns.

The Democrat-led Senate law and public safety committee approved the measure Monday. The panel is also considering a half-dozen gun-controlled measures that have cleared the Democrat-controlled Assembly.

Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has said he generally supports measures aimed at tightening the state’s already-strict gun laws.

The ghost-gun bill calls for barring the purchase of separate parts or kits that could be used to manufacture a firearm that cannot be traced by law enforcement.

It is already unlawful to make a handgun, rifle or shotgun without a license, and manufacturing a machine-gun, sawed-off shotgun or assault firearm is also illegal.