Ghost guns are linked to higher suicide rates but not to increases in homicides, according to a new study from New York University researchers.
The findings come as New York officials push for tighter restrictions on untraceable firearms, including a proposal from Gov. Kathy Hochul to require 3D printers sold in the state to include technology that blocks unlicensed gun production.
The peer-reviewed study, published this month in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, is the first to examine how ghost guns relate to firearm death rates.
Researchers analyzed data on ghost gun recoveries across California’s 58 counties from 2014 to 2023. They found for every 20 ghost guns recovered per 100,000 residents, the firearm suicide rate increased by 6% the following year.
Diana Silver, a coauthor of the study and a professor at NYU’s School of Global Public Health, said ghost guns may appeal to people who can't pass background checks or want to avoid interacting with others when acquiring a firearm.
“People who may be prone to suicide — who either can't get guns or don't have the money to get guns — find this easier than engaging with other people to purchase a gun or go through the background check,” she said.
Silver said the lack of a link to homicides tracks with broader trends in gun deaths, most of which are suicides. Homicides, she noted, often involve weapons already present in homes during escalating disputes.
The study found statistically significant associations between ghost gun recoveries and suicide rates among men, non-Hispanic white people and Hispanic people. But Silver urged caution when interpreting the results for Hispanic populations, since California’s large Latino population may limit how the findings apply to other states. No significant link was found for Black, Asian or female populations.
Silver emphasized that the study identifies associations, not cause and effect.
“These are just associations. This is not causal research,” she said. “But it's the first line of research that tells us there may be something here that we would need to look into.”
Ghost guns — firearms without serial numbers that can be built at home from kits or 3D-printed components — have surged nationwide in recent years. Law enforcement recovered nearly 17 times more ghost guns in 2023 than in 2017, according to the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has also pushed for new rules targeting 3D printer manufacturers, arguing ghost guns now rival the so-called "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms trafficked into New York from other states.
