LITTLE ROCK, Ark — Violent crime in Little Rock has been top-of-mind for a lot in Little Rock this year. We are under a state of emergency because of it, and a push to stop illegal guns is at the heart of a plan to curb crime.
It's even garnered attention on the national level with President Joe Biden announcing efforts to get ghost guns off the street last week.
A ghost gun is a manufactured firearm that doesn't consist of a commercial serial number to be traced.
"Across the country, police departments report sharp increases in the number of ghost guns found at crime scenes," said President Biden.
The Justice Department is sending additional resources to help combat violent gun crimes.
Here in Little Rock, the department confiscated 750 illegal guns off the street.
That includes guns stolen and/or in possession of felons.
"Ghost guns, generally speaking, are firearms that don't have serial numbers. Now the question is, is that illegal? Absolutely not. It can be," said Corey Valentine with We the People Defense.
He and his wife Kourtney co-own the gun defense program and said for law abiding citizens, "ghost" guns are just homemade guns.
"The law allows for a minimum of 20%, meaning 20% of that firearm has to be manufactured or put together, assembled by the owner. That firearm has to stay with the owner," said Valentine.
With websites where people can purchase other gun parts to create their own firearms, criminals can then sell and/or use firearms that can't be traced.
So, legally guns can come 80% complete, but unlicensed buyers have to assemble the final 20%.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the term "ghost" gun does not appear in any federal firearm statute and has no legal significance for purpose of application of federal firearm statutes.
ATF uses the term Privately Made Firearms (PMF):
ATF investigates criminal possession and other criminal use of Privately Made Firearms (PMF) in the same manner as any other federal firearm offense.
ATF works with our law enforcement partners to advise us when they encounter these types of firearms so that we are better able to monitor trends involving criminal use of these guns.
ATF has as its top priority to keep our families and neighborhoods safe from gun violence.
Valentine said the guns as a whole aren't the problem.
"There's just a lot of fear. The fear of firearms. The fear of crime, but when when the fear of crime outweighs the fear of firearms, people are going to go get firearms," said Valentine.
He said at the end of the day, there's not a gun problem, there's a people problem, which is what he and his wife want to work to fix in the future.
"In reality, it's not a serial number that determines if a person chooses to take someone else's life or not," said Valentine.
Their goal is to offer an affordable program for new minority and women gun owners.
Little Rock will be under a state of emergency for violent crimes for the next 30 days, and Sunday, Mayor Frank Scott, Jr. said it'll remain in effect for as long as it takes to combat crime.