Completion of the rule comes as the White House and the Justice Department have been under growing pressure to crack down on gun deaths and violent crime in the U.S.
The aim is to rein in privately made firearms without serial numbers. They're increasingly cropping up at crime scenes across the U.S. Three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press the rule could be released as soon as Monday, April 11,2022. They could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity.
The exact timing of the announcement hasn't been set, the people said. They could not discuss the matter publicly and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. The White House declined to comment. The rule is expected to change the current definition of a firearm under federal law to include unfinished parts, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun.
Some states, like California, have enacted laws in recent years to require serial numbers to be stamped on ghost guns.