Attorney General Ellison, Senator Latz, and Representative Pinto announce bill closing ghost gun loophole
Ghost guns are untraceable, homemade firearms that pose a significant threat to the safety of Minnesotans
Legislation prohibits making, selling, or owning ghost guns
March 16, 2026 (SAINT PAUL) — Today, Attorney General Keith Ellison, Senator Ron Latz, and Representative Dave Pinto announced legislation to prohibit the creation, possession, and sale of ghost guns, HF 3407/SF 3661, given the clear danger these weapons pose to the safety of Minnesotans.
Background on Ghost Guns
Ghost guns are firearms lacking serial numbers that can be 3D printed or assembled at home from kits sold online. These firearms present a serious problem for public safety in Minnesota for a number of reasons.
- Ghost guns make criminal investigations more difficult:
Ghost guns lack the serial numbers that traditional firearms have, rendering them untraceable, which can significantly impede law enforcement investigations. When law enforcement discovers a firearm at the scene of a crime, they can use the serial number to trace the gun from its manufacturer to the gun store that sold it to the person that bought it, who can then be interviewed. The lack of a serial number makes investigations into shootings involving ghost guns significantly more difficult. - Ghost guns lack a major deterrent for gun traffickers:
Serial numbers on traditional firearms also deter individuals from illegally selling firearms to people prohibited from owning a gun, a process known as gun trafficking. For example, if several firearms are recovered at various crime scenes and are all traced back to someone who claims to no longer be in possession of them, law enforcement may begin an investigation into that individual for gun trafficking. Ghost guns’ lack of a serial number makes it far harder to identify who sold the firearm. - Ghost guns bypass background checks:
When firearms are either entirely 3D printed or assembled from kits purchased online, a process which can take an hour or two, the background check process is bypassed entirely, allowing dangerous individuals who cannot pass a background check to acquire a gun.
Given the increasing availability and ease of use of 3D printers, the problem of ghost guns is only getting worse. According to the ATF, 187 ghost guns were traced in Minnesota from 2017-2021. This number jumped to 631 in 2022-2023—a 237% increase. Between 2022-2023, Minnesota had the 16th most ghost guns recovered in crimes and submitted for tracing in the entire U.S, and ghost guns comprised 6% of all crime guns recovered in the state and submitted for tracing. So far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have passed legislation banning or regulating ghost guns.
The Ghost Gun Loophole
Although Minnesota law already bans removing or altering a firearm’s serial number, a recent Minnesota Supreme Court decision found that Minnesota’s statute only requires firearms to have serial numbers if the guns were required to be serialized under federal law. By tying Minnesota’s current statute to constantly changing federal regulatory standards that currently do not outright prohibit all ghost guns, the ruling created a significant loophole in state law that requires lawmakers’ urgent attention.
"The ability to 3D print a firearm or order a gun-building kit online makes it far too easy for dangerous individuals to get their hands on a gun, and that’s a serious problem," said Attorney General Ellison. "These ghost guns get around background checks, they make it easier to traffic firearms, and they make it harder for law enforcement to investigate gun crimes. The status quo is completely unacceptable, so I am teaming up with Senator Latz and Representative Pinto to confront this problem head on and keep Minnesotans safe.”
“No one could’ve foreseen a world where you could print the parts to make a gun at home, but that’s the world we live in today,” said Senator Latz. “Our state gun laws need to reflect this new reality and the increasing prevalence of ghost guns. This legislation will close this dangerous loophole and help keep Minnesotans safe.”
“Every Minnesotan deserves to be safe, but ghost guns fundamentally undermine our work to keep dangerous weapons out of the hands of those who shouldn’t have them,” said Representative Pinto. “By sidestepping background checks and other safeguards, these weapons are a growing threat, and it’s time for the Legislature to take urgent action. Closing this loophole is a critical piece in our much broader work toward preventing gun violence in Minnesota.”
HF 3407/SF 3661
Attorney General Ellison, Senator Latz, and Representative Pinto’s legislation closes the ghost gun loophole and combats the threats posed by ghost guns through the following means.
- Sale, Transfer, and Distribution:
Prohibiting individuals without federal firearms licenses from purchasing, selling, or transferring a finished firearm or unfinished frame or receiver, without a serial number.- Sometimes, ghost guns are sold as a kit that contains a receiver or frame, which is the body that houses the components of a firearm, as well as the remaining parts necessary to fully assemble the firearm. By targeting unfinished and unserialized frames and receivers, this legislation aims to prohibit as many of the different forms ghost guns can take as possible.
- Possession:
Prohibiting the possession of firearms without serial numbers, with a grace period for individuals who have applied for, but have not yet received, a serial number. - Manufacturing and Assembly:
Requiring individuals without federal firearms licenses to obtain a serial number before completing the manufacture or assembly of a firearm, frame, or receiver, and capping at three per year the number of firearms, frames, and receivers that an individual can manufacture without a federal firearms license. - Serialization Process:
Requiring individuals to bring unserialized firearms or unfinished frames or receivers to FFL dealers or other federal licensees authorized to provide marking services. - 3D Printers:
Restricting the use of 3D printers to manufacture firearms and prohibiting the distribution of design files used to 3D-print firearms.
Attorney General Ellison and Senator Latz will present this legislation to a hearing of the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee today, which will be livestreamed here.
Support for the Legislation
Ahead of today’s committee hearing, the legislation has received support from both law enforcement and from organizations dedicated to reducing gun violence through common-sense gun safety reform.
In a letter to the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara wrote that “ghost guns reflect a major risk to public safety because they can be assembled, purchased, and sold outside of regulated channels,” and that the provisions in HF 3407/SF 3661 will “help to limit the number of illegal firearms on the street and ensure that these weapons can be connected to a crime.”
In a letter of support to the same committee, the Executive Director of Protect Minnesota, Maggiy Emery, wrote that “across the country, states are taking action to address the rapid proliferation of ghost guns and the risks they pose to communities and law enforcement. Minnesota should not remain behind as technology continues to evolve. Establishing clear rules around firearm serialization and manufacturing is a common-sense step to ensure our laws keep pace with modern realities.”
Spencer Myers with the GIFFORDS Law Center noted that law enforcement have seen a dramatic increase in the proliferation of ghost guns. Myers wrote in a letter of support on behalf of his organization that, “by advancing SF3661, Minnesota can keep these dangerous weapons out of communities, prevent senseless deaths, and help local law enforcement more effectively do their jobs. Combatting the scourge of gun violence in Minnesota and across the United States will take cooperation and a multi-faceted approach. We are confident that passing this bill into law will save lives, and we urge this committee to support this critical piece of legislation.”
Everytown for Gun Safety also voiced their support for the legislation in a letter. Charles Allen from Everyown’s State Government team wrote that “Minnesota has the opportunity to join 16 other states that have already moved to regulate ghost guns. This is a common-sense, proactive measure to ensure our laws keep pace with technology. By passing SF 3661, you are ensuring that Minnesota does not become a haven for the manufacture of untraceable firearms. We urge the Committee to move SF 3661 forward and maintain the momentum toward a safer Minnesota.”
