New York Attorney General Letitia James urged newly confirmed U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland in a letter Monday to curtail the spread of hard-to-trace firearms that lack serial numbers. 

James sent the letter as part of a coalition of 18 attorneys general from around the country pointing to a loophole in federal law that can enable people who otherwise cannot access a firearm to purchase guns that are 80% complete by lacking a receiver, evading federal regulations. 

“There is only one purpose for the sale of deadly ghost guns — to put guns into the hands of those who are legally prohibited from owning a firearm,” James said. 

“The proliferation of these types of weapons has not only caused indescribable suffering across the country, but gravely endangers every New Yorker. Ghost guns put dangerous weapons into the hands of terrorists, criminals, and domestic abusers, which is why we are calling on Attorney General Garland to close the loophole in the Gun Control Act and prohibit the sale of 80 percent-complete receivers to those who are already banned from purchasing weapons. This is about protecting our schools, our offices, and our places of worship from turning into killing fields.”

Essentially, James and the state attorneys general ask to issue a new interpretation of federal gun control laws to include the 80% complete receivers as part of the category requiring background checks prior to purhcase. 

The same coalition of AGs last month pushed back against a lawsuit that is challenging a state ban blocking a company from providing plans for guns manufactured through 3-D printers.