Phantom weapons and what is being done federally to keep them off the streets

Phantom weapons, also referred to as ‘ghost guns,’ are an emerging threat in the US battle against gun violence. Ghost guns are “unserialized,” meaning they are nearly impossible to trace after the owners purchase and assemble them. These guns pose similar threats to those that are purchased illegally, as they cannot be traced back to an owner.

In 2022, after law enforcement began to notice a sudden increase in the use of these weapons, the Biden Administration responded by implementing a rule requiring the kits used to build these weapons to be serialized so that they could be traced. The new rule required these weapons to be regulated under the Gun Control Act, meaning that manufacturers would be necessary to have a license and to “include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver.” It also closed the background check loophole by mandating that sellers “run background checks prior to a sale – just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms.”

Under federal law, background checks are only required for licensed gun sellers. Unlicensed sellers, many of whom have been selling ghost guns, do not need to conduct background checks. In an attempt to close the loophole, the new rules will also require pawnbrokers and other federally licensed dealers that purchased one of these weapons to “put a serial number on the weapon before selling it to a customer.”

These rules came after an update to the Gun Control Act to expand the definition to include constructible weapons.

Supreme Court set to make major determination over regulation of ghost guns

However, in late September, the White House released an executive order addressing the problem once again, this time with a focus on the growing threat of 3D-printed weapons. The new order came just a week before the Supreme Court is set to take up a case to determine whether ghost guns can be subject to the same federal regulation as traditional weapons.

Jennifer VanDerStok, Tactical Machining, the Mountain States Legal Foundation, and the Firearms Policy Coalition challenged the rules included in the 2021 rule placing ghost guns under the authority of the Gun Control Act. Georgetown Law professor Kevin Tobia took X to explain how he and his colleagues included that such kits should be considered firearms by the highest court in the land.

The lawsuit claims that constructible weapons cannot be regulated under the Gun Control Act because they do not fit the legal definition offered in the law. Oral arguments in the case will begin on Tuesday, 8 October.