Goodbye to Ghost Guns - the Supreme Court takes action
The Supreme Court upheld a regulation on "ghost guns" enacted by the Biden administration.
The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a “ghost gun” regulation imposed by the Biden administration in 2022. In a 7-2 ruling, the justices reversed a lower court’s decision that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had overstepped its authority in regulating the largely untraceable ghost gun kits.
Before the measure went into effect, advocacy groups and five companies that make the kits filed a lawsuit. The parties argued that the regulation was not permitted under the 1968 Gun Control Act because the kits are not weapons, but parts.
The Biden administration’s measure came at a time when the use of “ghost guns” in crimes has proliferated across the country. These kits are attractive to people prohibited by law from purchasing firearms because they can be bought online, don’t require background checks, can be assembled at home, and don’t have serial numbers, which allow law enforcement authorities to trace weapons.
In the opinion, the Court noted the rise of ghost guns, which allow for “functional firearms” to be assembled at home and the massive increase in the sales of these kits. “Sales have grown exponentially, and law enforcement agencies are reporting a dramatic increase in untraceable “ghost guns” used in crimes—from 1,600 in 2017 to more than 19,000 in 2021,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch.
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What the Supreme Court’s decision means for gun control
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who wrote for the majority, was joined by conservative Justices John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett, and Brett Kavanaugh, as well as the court’s three liberal members, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown. Conservative Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.
The regulation, which has been in effect since August 2022, requires firearm kit and parts manufacturers to mark their products with serial numbers, obtain licenses, conduct background checks on buyers, and keep records, just as they do for other firearms under the 1968 Gun Control Act. In August 2023, the Supreme Court declined to stay the measure. However, the Trump administration could attempt to overturn the rule.
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