SAN DIEGO San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan is pushing for more severe criminal penalties for ghost gun offenses, citing the ease with which untraceable firearms can be manufactured and the danger they pose to public safety. Ghost gunsunserialized and untraceable weapons often created through 3D printers or online kitscontinue to threaten communities across San Diego County despite law enforcement efforts to remove them from the streets. The issue came into sharp focus in June 2023 when convicted felon J.C. Sartor used a ghost gun to shoot San Diego police officer James Romero in City Heights. Sartor was later sentenced to nearly 40 years in prison for attempted murder. According to Stephan, these weapons are alarmingly accessible to dangerous individuals. "Someone who is not of age to own a gun, someone who has a mental health history, someone with a criminal history can have easy access to those ghost guns," said Stephan. "He doesn't have to go through any of the hurdles of getting a legal gun," she added. Most ghost guns are manufactured through kits purchased onlinethough shipping such kits to California is illegalor through 3D printer technology that creates separate parts for later assembly. Prosecution efforts underway So far this year, Stephan's office has prosecuted 123 ghost gun cases, with many connected to gang activity. "About half of our gang cases have ghost guns. That is a very large number. So about 50 last year of our gang cases had ghost guns and 28 this year," said Stephan. The San Diego Police Department formed the Ghost Gun Apprehension Team in 2021 in partnership with the federal ATFa first-of-its-kind task force that now trains law enforcement agencies across the country. According to SDPD, the effort has shown measurable results: In 2021, 25% of the more than 2,200 firearms recovered were ghost guns. In 2024, only 13% of more than 1,900 impounded guns were privately made. Lieutenant Dan Brinkerhoff, who heads the SDPD team, explained the challenge of tracing these weapons. "It is very hard to find the source of these guns because they're not serialized, there's no markings, so it's very difficult to find out who's making them or where they're coming from," Brinkerhoff said. Brinkerhoff emphasized the team's proactive approach, saying that their sole mission is to proactively search for people or criminal organizations that are making, selling, or even possessing these ghost guns. "We're out there every day, we specifically have teams that look for this type of crime, and we proactively go after it," he said. Limitations in Current Law Despite progress, significant legal limitations exist. Currently, merely possessing or manufacturing a ghost gun is only a misdemeanor. San Diego has adopted ordinances banning ghost guns at both the city and county levels, and California passed regulatory laws in 2022, making it one of 15 states nationwide to do so. These local and state measures provide additional tools for law enforcement. "It makes it unlawful to have the parts, so it gives an additional tool if you encounter somebody before they assemble it," Stephan said. However, Stephan believes more action is needed. Even when felony charges can be brought, there are currently no additional sentencing enhancements specifically for using a ghost gun in a crime. Call for Stronger Penalties Stephan argues that existing protections under the Second Amendment for law-abiding citizens should not extend to ghost guns and emphasizes that there should be additional measures to address the issue. "But more needs to be done to make sure that there are better laws that specifically address ghost guns," said Stephan. Brinkerhoff credited the collaborative efforts across agencies for current successes. "They're getting guns off the streets almost on a daily basis, they're out there finding these guns, and bringing people to justice," he said. Law enforcement continues to combat ghost gun proliferation using existing legislation while advocacy continues for stricter penalties. Now, as discussions around ghost guns heat up, its critical for the Second Amendment community to balance rights with the need for public safety.