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Mayor Durkan Releases Statement in Support of President Joe Biden’s Executive Actions to Invest in Community Safety, Address Gun Violence, and Restrict Access to “Ghost Guns” as 3D-Printed Guns are Recovered in Seattle

Seattle (April 8, 2021) – Following the confiscation of untraceable, 3D-printed “ghost guns” this past week, Seattle Mayor and former U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan commended initial action by President Joe Biden’s executive actions aimed at curbing gun violence in our communities and investing in community safety. Mayor Durkan called for Congressional action and highlighted President Biden’s focus on laws like those in Washington temporarily barring people in crisis from accessing firearms if they present a danger to themselves or others. The Seattle Police Department’s Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPO) prevents individuals at high risk of harming themselves or others from accessing firearms by allowing family, household members. 

“Thoughts and prayers will not create community safety or reduce gun violence. Just this year, we have been witness to a number of deadly mass shootings, including in Boulder and Atlanta, that make it all too clear how deadly this epidemic of gun violence is in our nation. We must invest in true community safety programs to reduce violence and reduce the number of weapons available to those in crisis or illegally,” said Mayor Durkan. “Locally, illegal firearms have been taken off the streets including a number of untraceable, unregulated, and undetectable 3-D printed guns. These ‘ghost guns’ present a significant threat to law enforcement, public safety, and national security very real danger to our communities, and cannot be ignored. Now more than ever we need Congress to pass commonsense reform to reduce gun violence, and more states to model Washington’s Extreme Risk Protection Orders. We cannot accept a status quo that perpetuates this epidemic and makes our communities less safe.”

“Seattle saw a significant increase in gun violence in 2020 and the SPD is very concerned with the recent recovery of several ghost guns that are now being used by criminals in Seattle,” Police Chief Adrian Diaz said Thursday. “Although our partnership this week with federal and local law enforcement agencies resulted in the arrests of dozens of drug trafficking suspects and the confiscation of their many weapons, the existence of ghost guns in Seattle raises the danger posed by firearms because ghost guns can be home-made, require no background checks, and are impossible to trace. The SPD remains committed to getting ghost guns – and all weapons — out of the hands of violent offenders.”