ghost gun
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English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From ghost + gun. Derived from the fact that these firearms are unserialized, difficult to trace, and often remain invisible to the tracking and regulation covering traditionally manufactured firearms. Known as “kit gun” or a “DIY gun.” Coined in 2012.[1]
Noun
[edit]ghost gun (plural ghost guns)
- A gun without serial numbers that cannot be easily tracked, especially a home-made gun built with non-registered, partially finished or 3D printed components.
- 2017 November 27, Christina Caron, quoting Adam Skaggs, “‘Ghost Guns,’ Homemade and Untraceable, Face Growing Scrutiny”, in The New York Times[2], →ISSN:
- The two companies warrant attention because their marketing focuses “on the anonymous, untraceable nature of the guns they allow to be made — and the many examples of ghost guns used in crimes,” Adam Skaggs, chief counsel at the center, said in an email.
- A gun that is not detectable by standard gun detection measures, such as a gun without much metal thus unable to set off metal detectors.