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Gunsmith reports hectic days as owners scramble to comply with Maryland's new ghost gun law

Maryland law requires home-built "ghost gun" owners to engrave numbers and register with state police.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. — A Hagerstown gunsmith and laser engraver says his business has grown hectic as Maryland's new "Ghost Gun" law went into effect on June 1.

"A lot of people are trying to comply with the new rules," said Doug Novic of DC Laser in Hagerstown. "If you're in the state of Maryland, you must have your gun marked."

Novic says he has engraved 150 to 200 home-built guns brought to him by owners and collectors since the law was passed by Maryland's General Assembly in March.

The law, which went into effect Wednesday, prohibits the sale of so-called "ghost guns," and requires existing guns to be marked and registered with state police. Owners have until March 1, 2023, to comply, according to the law.

Ghost guns are either entirely home-built using tools like 3-D printers or are assembled from kits that are sold online. They do not have serial numbers and are not registered, rendering them virtually untraceable according to law enforcement authorities.

Until the law went into effect in Maryland, critics there complained that anyone with a credit card and a shipping address could buy one including kids, domestic abusers, mentally ill people and felons aiming to evade gun restrictions.

Law enforcement authorities report ghost gun seizures are skyrocketing as criminals increasingly turn to them as an easy way to get a firearm.

Because they have not been tracked, there is no reliable estimate of how many ghost guns are in Maryland, according to legislators who supported the new law.

Second Amendment activists predict there are so many guns, and so few qualified to do the engraving, that it will be virtually impossible for owners to comply with the marking requirement by next year's March deadline.

"I seriously doubt that everyone who wants to comply, will be able to comply," said Paul Brockman of the Maryland Patriot Picket.

Brockman predicted the law will have no effect on reducing crime because criminals will not register the guns in their possession, and will be able to continue getting homebuilt kits which remain widely available in other states.

According to Maryland State Police, any federally licensed firearms dealer may do the state-required engraving.

MSP is asking homemade gun owners to create a number that includes the owner's ZIP Code and initial with additional digits unique to each gun they mark.

The following businesses are offering gun engraving, according to a list provided by Maryland State Police:

DC Laser

Lock Stock & Barrel, LLC

Duffy's Gun Room

Hanover Armory

Loper Machine, LLC

Bollinger Gunsmithing & Sales LLC

Devil Dog Laser Engraving, LLC

The Gun Shop

Browne Works, Inc.

Cromwell's Firearms, LLC

Whiskey Barrel Firearms, LLC

Old Washington Armory(Bad Wolf Industries)

WATCH NEXT: Without a trace: How the DOJ plans to track 'ghost guns' and keep communities safer

A new ruling from the Biden Administration could change how 'ghost guns' are bought. But, it already has strong opposition.

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