Do-It-Yourself “Ghost Guns” Allow Customers to Avoid Background Checks

CHARLOTTE, NC – With students marching and pressure growing on lawmakers, there are calls for further restrictions on assault-style weapons.

But some people are already using a loophole that avoids background checks.

Various websites will sell you an 80 percent completed gun or rifle, you finish it yourself.

And it’s completely legal, no background check, or serial number required, as long as you don’t sell it to someone else.

“That’s the key right there, you’re building it for your own use,” explains Roger Ayscue with Hyatt Gun Shop.

He says some gun enthusiasts like the challenge of building their own rifles.

But he cautions, learning how to do it on YouTube is not a good idea.

“If it’s not done correctly, the gun might blow up,” Ayscue says, “They need to get a decent book on how to do it, that has the torch specifications for the screws, that has how to actually put one together.”

Ayscue says if you’re caught selling guns you make to someone else, you could face years behind bars.

“Your uncle, he may be a great guy, but if he can’t legally own a gun, you shouldn’t build one for him,” he says.