The Justice Department on Friday released a proposed rule that would broaden the definition of a firearm, requiring some gun-making kits to include a serial number.

The notice of proposed rulemaking, made public Friday, comes several weeks after President Joe Biden promised a crackdown on “ghost guns.”

Those are homemade firearms that lack serial numbers used to trace them and are often purchased without a background check.

For years, federal and local law enforcement officials have been sounding the alarm about what they say is a loophole in federal firearms law, allowing people who are generally prohibited from owning guns to obtain them by making the weapons themselves.

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