Ghost guns scare the hell out of those who believe gun control is an unmitigated good thing. After all, they’re firearms that can be built by an individual without asking the government, “Mother, May I?”

It’s terrifying to them.

Now, as some California cities are considering ghost gun bans, at least one is going to keep an eye on this before they do so themselves.

Pasadena City Manager Steve Mermell said local officials are monitoring efforts by the Los Angeles City Council to draft an ordinance that would ban ghost guns.

“Ghost guns are becoming more and more prevalent and we support efforts to clamp down on them,” Mermell said in an email to Pasadena Now.

“We will continue to monitor efforts on this front, and if we believe it would help, we would certainly ask the council to consider similar action,” Mermell wrote.

The Los Angeles ordinance would prohibit the possession, purchase, sale, receipt, and transportation of ghost guns in Los Angeles.

The L.A. City Council is scheduled to vote on the motion on Tuesday.

Ghost guns — also known as kit guns and 80% receivers — are nearly untraceable weapons without serial numbers that can be assembled by unlicensed buyers from legally purchased kits.

The unfinished parts on ghost guns are inexpensive and not required under federal law to have serial numbers. They also do not require a background check to purchase.

What’s missed here is that “ghost guns” can also be 3D printed. The lower receivers can be printed and built by anyone with a large enough printer bed.

In other words, every city in America could ban ghost guns–the federal government could ban them–and they’d still show up.

Look, the days when gun control might, theoretically, have worked are long over. Anyone and everyone can build a firearm at home with absolutely no tools.

If L.A. County and Pasadena want to address the issue, why not start by undermining the reason people want these ghost guns for illicit purposes? That’s what the real problem is, right? A gun sitting on a table doesn’t do a damn thing in and of itself. It has no volition of its own. It’s just a thing.

It’s not until someone picks it up that it can be used for good or ill.

By undermining the desire to do ill with it, you negate that particular firearm from doing anything bad at all. It’s just a thing.

Of course, if you keep people from becoming criminals, they’re probably not going to manufacture a firearm illegally in the first place, so there’s that as well. While they may get a gun, they’ll do it lawfully because, well, they can.

Not only that, but their overall lives will tend to be better. It should be a win for everyone.

It’ only good bad that your average politician in California is so myopic that they can’t see the ramifications of this approach over just banning something, a ban criminals will ignore every single time.

But hey, what else can you expect out of California.