unlicensed firearms
Unregistered deadly weapons
Unlicensed firearms are guns possessed or sold without the permits, registrations, or authorizations required by law.
The term appears in news reports about crime and in policy debates over gun control: Police seized several unlicensed firearms from the residence.
What counts as unlicensed varies by jurisdiction—some places require registration of all guns, others only certain types, and some impose no licensing requirements at all.
- illegalForbidden by statute
- ghost gunsUntraceable homemade weapons
- black marketIllicit trading system
- contrabandProhibited trade goods
- unregisteredNot formally recorded
gun show loophole · private sale · smuggled · serial number · straw purchase · straw buyer · trafficking · arms dealer · concealed · backstreet · back alley · underground · felony · possession · raid · confiscated · untraceable · homemade
- contrabandheroin, cocaine, narcotics, illegal drugs, illicit drugs