Frost Introduces Bill to Close 'Zombie Gun' Loophole

Reducing or preventing mass shootings and other acts of gun violence remains a priority of Democrats, seeking means of preventing the next shooter from obtaining weapons legally through loopholes in gun purchasing regulations. Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL) recently introduced a bill that would close the "zombie gun" loophole, saying, "I refuse to see another life taken or another family devastated because of gun violence."

"Zombie guns," as Spectrum News helped define, are the result of gun disposal companies only destroying single pieces of seized or retired firearms and then reselling the remaining pieces as "do-it-yourself" kits that can then become untraceable "ghost guns."

This effectively creates a backdoor allowance to buy firearms extralegally, with purchasers only needing to collect pieces and build functional weapons without a background check or other regulations in place.

As a result, Rep. Frost's Destroy Zombie Guns Act would require gun disposal companies to destroy seized or retired weapons, no longer permitting them to resell pieces.

In his press release, Rep. Frost stated, "A ‘zombie gun’ is exactly what it sounds like – it’s a gun that should not be living, it shouldn’t be able to operate, it shouldn’t be in use, and it shouldn’t be able to harm or claim another life – but it does."

"Closing the loophole that has allowed gun destruction companies to collect taxpayer dollars for only destroying one part of the gun and not the whole thing is undoubtedly contributing to the gun violence we are seeing in our communities today. I refuse to see another life taken or another family devastated because of gun violence. We need to destroy zombie guns now," Frost continued.

The bill was cosponsored by Representatives Jill Tokuda (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Gabe Amo (D-RI) and received support from Everytown America, March for Our Lives, and Giffords.

In mid-February, Frost and Representative Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) introduced another gun bill, which created a new merchant category code specifically for firearm and ammunition purchases to detect suspicious purchasing patterns made via credit card.