II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2652 

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to ensure that all 

firearms are traceable, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. BLUMENTHAL (for himself, Mr. MURPHY, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. REED, Mr. CARPER, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. 

WARREN, Mr. FETTERMAN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. CASEY, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

Mr. MARKEY, Mr. PADILLA, Ms. HIRONO, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. 

MENENDEZ, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to 

the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to 

ensure that all firearms are traceable, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ghost Guns and 

5 Untraceable Firearms Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that— 


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1 (1) without the enactment of this Act, the Bu2 reau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 

3 has the authority to regulate ghost guns (as defined 

4 in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code, as 

5 amended by section 3 of this Act) and unfinished 

6 frames and receivers; and 

7 (2) the purpose of this Act is to clarify and 

8 strengthen such authority. 

9 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENT THAT ALL FIREARMS BE TRACE10 ABLE. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 921(a) of title 18, United 

12 States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in paragraph (10), by adding at the end the 

14 following: ‘‘The term ‘manufacturing firearms’ shall 

15 include assembling a functional firearm or molding, 

16 machining, or 3D printing a frame or receiver, and 

17 shall not include making or fitting special barrels, 

18 stocks, or trigger mechanisms to firearms.’’; 

19 (2) by inserting after paragraph (30) the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(31)(A) The term ‘frame or receiver’— 

22 ‘‘(i) means a part of a weapon that pro23 vides or is intended to provide the housing or 

24 structure to hold or integrate 1 or more fire 

25 control components, without regard to whether 


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1 pins or other attachments are required to con2 nect those components to the housing or struc3 ture; and 

4 ‘‘(ii) includes— 

5 ‘‘(I) a forged, cast, printed, extruded, 

6 or machined body or similar article that is 

7 designed to, or may readily be completed, 

8 assembled, or otherwise converted to, pro9 vide the housing or structure, without re10 gard to whether the housing or structure 

11 has been indexed, drilled, or machined in 

12 any way, and without regard to whether 

13 the article is sold, distributed, or marketed 

14 with or for any associated template, jig, 

15 mold, equipment, tool, instructions, or 

16 guide; and 

17 ‘‘(II) an object that is marketed or 

18 sold to become or be used as the frame or 

19 receiver of a functional firearm once com20 pleted, assembled, or converted. 

21 ‘‘(B) For purposes of subparagraph (A)(i), if a 

22 weapon has more than 1 part that provides the 

23 housing or a structure designed to hold or integrate 

24 1 or more fire control or essential components, each 

25 such part shall be considered a frame or receiver, 


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1 unless the Attorney General has provided otherwise 

2 by regulation with respect to the specific make and 

3 model of weapon on or before January 1, 2024.’’; 

4 and 

5 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(38) The term ‘ghost gun’— 

7 ‘‘(A) means a firearm, including a frame 

8 or receiver, that lacks a unique serial number 

9 engraved or cast on the frame or receiver by a 

10 licensed manufacturer or importer in accord11 ance with this chapter; and 

12 ‘‘(B) does not include— 

13 ‘‘(i) a firearm that has been rendered 

14 permanently inoperable; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a firearm identified by means of 

16 a unique serial number assigned by a State 

17 agency and engraved or cast on the frame 

18 or receiver of the weapon before the effec19 tive date of the Ghost Guns and 

20 Untraceable Firearms Act of 2023 in ac21 cordance with a State law; 

22 ‘‘(iii) a firearm manufactured or im23 ported before December 16, 1968; or 


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1 ‘‘(iv) a firearm identified as provided 

2 for under section 5842 of the Internal Rev3 enue Code of 1986. 

4 ‘‘(39) The term ‘fire control component’— 

5 ‘‘(A) means a component necessary for the 

6 firearm to initiate or complete the firing se7 quence; and 

8 ‘‘(B) includes a hammer, bolt or breech9 block, cylinder, trigger mechanism, firing pin, 

10 striker, and slide rails.’’. 

11 (b) PROHIBITION; REQUIREMENTS.—Section 922 of 

12 title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

13 end the following: 

14 ‘‘(aa)(1) Congress finds and declares the following: 

15 ‘‘(A) Firearms tracing is the systematic track16 ing of the movement of a firearm recovered by law 

17 enforcement officials from the first sale of a firearm 

18 by the manufacturer or importer through the dis19 tribution chain (including the wholesaler and re20 tailer) to the first retail purchaser. 

21 ‘‘(B) Law enforcement agencies across the 

22 country work with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 

23 Firearms, and Explosives to trace firearms and 

24 thereby obtain investigative leads in the fight 

25 against violent crime and terrorism. 


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1 ‘‘(C) The ability of law enforcement agencies to 

2 trace a firearm is dependent on the serial number or 

3 other marks on the firearm that identify the manu4 facturer or importer who manufactured or imported 

5 the firearm and that are unique to the firearm. 

6 ‘‘(D) Interstate gun trafficking interferes with 

7 lawful commerce in firearms and significantly con8 tributes to gun crime. Of the 361,587 firearms 

9 traced by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, 

10 and Explosives in 2021, 99,172 of those firearms 

11 were originally sold by a licensed firearms dealer in 

12 a State other than the State where the firearms 

13 were recovered. These guns made up 27.4 percent of 

14 all firearm recoveries in 2021. 

15 ‘‘(E) Even before the sale of a firearm, the gun, 

16 its component parts, and the raw materials from 

17 which they are made have considerably moved in 

18 interstate commerce. 

19 ‘‘(F) If unserialized and untraceable firearms 

20 may be constructed and transported freely from 

21 State to State, ordinary citizens and foreign visitors 

22 may fear to travel to or through certain parts of the 

23 country due to concern about violent crime and gun 

24 violence, and law enforcement agencies may be un25 able to address it. 


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1 ‘‘(2)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), it 

2 shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture, sell, offer 

3 to sell, transfer, purchase, or receive a ghost gun in or 

4 affecting interstate or foreign commerce. 

5 ‘‘(B) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply to— 

6 ‘‘(i) the manufacture of a firearm by a licensed 

7 manufacturer if the licensed manufacturer complies 

8 with section 923(i) before selling or transferring the 

9 firearm to another person; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the offer to sell, sale, or transfer of a 

11 ghost gun to, or purchase or receipt of a ghost gun 

12 by, a licensed dealer, licensed manufacturer, or li13 censed importer before the date that is 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of the Ghost Guns and 

15 Untraceable Firearms Act of 2023; or 

16 ‘‘(iii) transactions between licensed manufactur17 ers and importers on any date. 

18 ‘‘(3) It shall be unlawful for a person other than a 

19 licensed manufacturer or importer to engrave or cast a 

20 serial number on a firearm in or affecting interstate or 

21 foreign commerce unless specifically authorized by the At22 torney General. 

23 ‘‘(4) Beginning on the date that is 1 year after the 

24 date of enactment of the Ghost Guns and Untraceable 

25 Firearms Act of 2023, it shall be unlawful for any person 


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1 other than a licensed manufacturer or importer to know2 ingly possess a ghost gun in or affecting interstate or for3 eign commerce. 

4 ‘‘(5) Beginning on the date that is 1 year after the 

5 date of enactment of the Ghost Guns and Untraceable 

6 Firearms Act of 2023, it shall be unlawful for any person 

7 other than a licensed manufacturer or importer to possess 

8 a ghost gun in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce 

9 with the intent to sell or transfer the ghost gun with or 

10 without further manufacturing or to manufacture a fire11 arm with the ghost gun. 

12 ‘‘(6)(A) It shall be unlawful for any person to sell, 

13 offer to sell, or transfer, in or affecting interstate or for14 eign commerce, to any person other than a licensed manu15 facturer a machine that has the sole or primary function 

16 of manufacturing firearms. 

17 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), it shall 

18 be unlawful for any person other than a licensed manufac19 turer to purchase or receive, in or affecting interstate or 

20 foreign commerce, a machine that has the sole or primary 

21 function of manufacturing firearms. 

22 ‘‘(C) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), begin23 ning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enact24 ment of the Ghost Guns and Untraceable Firearms Act 

25 of 2023, it shall be unlawful for any person other than 


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1 a licensed manufacturer to possess, in or affecting inter2 state or foreign commerce, a machine that has the sole 

3 or primary function of manufacturing firearms. 

4 ‘‘(D) Subparagraphs (B) and (C) shall not apply to 

5 a person who is engaged in the business of selling manu6 facturing equipment to a licensed manufacturer who pur7 chases, receives, or possesses a machine with the intent 

8 to sell or transfer the machine to a licensed manufac9 turer.’’. 

10 (c) REQUIREMENTS.— 

11 (1) REMOVAL OF SERIAL NUMBERS.—Section 

12 922(k) of title 18, United States Code, is amend13 ed— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘importer’s or manufactur15 er’s’’ each place it appears; and 

16 (B) by inserting ‘‘required by this chapter 

17 or under State law’’ before ‘‘removed’’ each 

18 place it appears. 

19 (2) LICENSED IMPORTERS AND MANUFACTUR20 ERS.—Section 923(i) of title 18, United States 

21 Code, is amended— 

22 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘Licensed’’; 

23 and 

24 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

25 ‘‘The serial number shall be engraved or cast 


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1 on the frame or receiver in a manner sufficient 

2 to identify the firearm and the manufacturer or 

3 importer that put the serial number on the fire4 arm. 

5 ‘‘(2) Not later than 180 days after the date of 

6 enactment of the Ghost Guns and Untraceable Fire7 arms Act of 2023, the Attorney General shall update 

8 the regulations for engraving a unique serial number 

9 onto a ghost gun so that, after the date that is 1 

10 year after the enactment of this Act, a licensed deal11 er or gunsmith (as defined in section 478.11 of title 

12 27, Code of Federal Regulations, or any successor 

13 thereto) shall no longer have the authority to en14 grave a serial number onto a ghost gun.’’. 

15 (d) PENALTIES.—Section 924 of title 18, United 

16 States Code, is amended— 

17 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(B), by striking ‘‘or (q)’’ 

18 and inserting ‘‘(q), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 

19 (aa)(6)’’; 

20 (2) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

22 (i) in subparagraph (A), in the matter 

23 preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func24 tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’ each place it ap25 pears; 


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1 (ii) in subparagraph (B), in the mat2 ter preceding clause (i), by inserting ‘‘func3 tional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 

4 (iii) in subparagraph (D)(ii), by in5 serting ‘‘functional’’ before ‘‘firearm’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (4), by striking ‘‘all or 

7 part of the firearm’’ and all that follows 

8 through ‘‘person.’’ and inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘all or part of the functional firearm, or other10 wise make the presence of the functional fire11 arm known to another person, in order to in12 timidate that person, regardless of whether the 

13 functional firearm is directly visible to that per14 son.’’; 

15 (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘or (k)’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘(k), (aa)(2), (aa)(3), (aa)(5), or 

17 (aa)(6)’’; 

18 (4) in subsection (e)(1), by inserting ‘‘through 

19 the possession of a functional firearm’’ before ‘‘and 

20 has three’’; and 

21 (5) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(q) A person who violates section 922(aa)(4) shall— 

23 ‘‘(1) in the case of the first violation by the per24 son, be fined under this title, imprisoned not more 

25 than 1 year, or both; or 


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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of any subsequent violation by 

2 the person, be fined under this title, imprisoned not 

3 more than 5 years, or both.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. MODERNIZATION OF THE PROHIBITION ON 

5 UNDETECTABLE FIREARMS. 

6 Section 922(p) of title 18, United States Code, is 

7 amended— 

8 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

9 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

10 (A), by striking ‘‘any firearm’’; 

11 (B) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

12 as follows: 

13 ‘‘(A) an undetectable firearm; or’’; and 

14 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘any 

15 major component of which, when subjected to 

16 inspection by the types of x-ray machines com17 monly used at airports, does not generate’’ and 

18 inserting the following: ‘‘a major component of 

19 a firearm which, if subjected to inspection by 

20 the types of detection devices commonly used at 

21 airports for security screening, would not gen22 erate’’; 

23 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

24 (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read 

25 as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(A) the term ‘undetectable firearm’ 

2 means a firearm, as defined in section 

3 921(a)(3)(A), of which no major component is 

4 wholly made of detectable material;’’; 

5 (B) by striking subparagraph (B) and in6 serting the following: 

7 ‘‘(B) the term ‘major component’, with re8 spect to a firearm— 

9 ‘‘(i) means the slide or cylinder or the 

10 frame or receiver of the firearm; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a rifle or shotgun, 

12 includes the barrel of the firearm; and’’; 

13 and 

14 (C) by striking subparagraph (C) and all 

15 that follows through the end of the undesig16 nated matter following subparagraph (C) and 

17 inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) the term ‘detectable material’ means 

19 any material that creates a magnetic field 

20 equivalent to or more than 3.7 ounces of 17– 

21 4 pH stainless steel.’’; 

22 (3) in paragraph (3)— 

23 (A) in the first sentence, by inserting ‘‘, in24 cluding a prototype,’’ after ‘‘of a firearm’’; and 

25 (B) by striking the second sentence; and 


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1 (4) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘shall not 

2 apply to any firearm which’’ and all that follows and 

3 inserting the following: ‘‘shall not apply to— 

4 ‘‘(A) any firearm received by, in the pos5 session of, or under the control of the United 

6 States; or 

7 ‘‘(B) the manufacture, importation, posses8 sion, transfer, receipt, shipment, or delivery of 

9 a firearm by a licensed manufacturer or li10 censed importer pursuant to a contract with the 

11 United States.’’. 

Æ 


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