The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a federal law targeting largely untraceable “ghost guns” imposed by the administration of former Democrat President Joe Biden was valid. This regulation was part of a nationwide crackdown on the use and proliferation of firearms in crime.
In a ruling by conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch, the justices reversed a lower court decision that stated the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives exceeded its authority when it issued the 2022 rule aimed at parts and kits of ghost guns.
Conservative justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented. Gorsuch was joined in the majority by conservative Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the court’s three liberal members.
Ghost gun products can be purchased online and assembled quickly at home. They do not require serial numbers to track guns or background checks for purchasers as is required with other firearms.
In Texas, plaintiffs, including gun manufacturers, gun owners, and two gun rights organizations- the Firearms Policy Coalition and Second Amendment Foundation – sued in federal court to block the ATF’s rule.
This regulation requires that manufacturers of firearms parts and kits, such as receivers or partially completed frames, mark their products with serial numbers, obtain licenses, and perform background checks on buyers, just as they do for other commercially manufactured firearms.
The rule clarified the fact that these kits, and their components, are covered under the definition of a “firearm” in a federal law from 1968 called the Gun Control Act. Commercial manufacturers of such kits also need to be licensed.
According to law enforcement officials, ghost guns are especially attractive to those who cannot legally purchase firearms. This includes minors and people convicted of violent crimes.
The majority of justices appeared to be inclined, during the arguments on Oct. 8, to see the ATF ghost gun rule in a positive light. The Supreme Court is conservative, with a majority of 6-3.
Ghost guns do not have serial numbers, which are present on most firearms. This makes it difficult for authorities to trace them back to their original purchaser. The Biden administration deemed the rule crucial for combating an “explosion” of crimes in the U.S. involving ghost weapons.
Former U.S. Elizabeth Prelogar defended the regulation on behalf of the Biden administration and told the justices that ghost guns are not a hobby, as some challengers suggested.
The evidence indicates that these guns were purchased and used for crime. Prelogar stated that the guns were advertised as crime weapons.
The Fort Worth, Texas, Judge Reed O’Connor invalidated this rule in 2023. He ruled that the ATF “rewrote the law” impermissibly without congressional input.
The 5th U.S. Circuit, based in New Orleans, upheld O’Connor’s decision. The circuit upheld O’Connor’s ruling, criticizing the agency for trying to “take the mantle from Congress to do something with respect to firearm control.” It is not within the authority of an executive agency, however, to create laws for our country.
In 2023, the Supreme Court reinstated this rule in the interim while the Biden Administration appealed.
The United States is a deeply divided nation despite having the highest rate of gun ownership in the world. This includes frequent mass shootings.
In three major rulings since 2008, the Supreme Court has widened gun rights, including a 2022 decision that declared for the first time that the U.S. Constitution protects an individual’s right to carry a handgun in public for self-defense. In the 2022 ruling, the justices struck down New York state’s limits, enacted in 1913, on carrying concealed handguns outside the home.
The Supreme Court rejected in June 2024 a federal regulation that prohibited “bump stock” devices, which allow semiautomatic guns to fire quickly like machine guns.
