The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s regulation on ghost guns on Tuesday (October 8). These untraceable weapons have seen an exponential increase in their association with criminal activities in recent years.
The government regulation primarily targets gun kits sold online. These kits can be assembled into functioning firearms in less than 30 minutes. Since the finished weapons lack serial numbers, they are almost impossible to trace.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Justice, the regulation was introduced as a response to the surge in the number of ghost guns seized by law enforcement agencies across the country. In 2018, fewer than 4,000 ghost guns were confiscated, while in 2021, the number approached 20,000. During this period, almost 700 ghost guns were linked to murder or attempted murder incidents.
The final rule established by the Biden administration requires companies to treat these kits like other firearms, including adding serial numbers, conducting background checks, and verifying that the purchaser is at least 21 years old.
Court documents indicate that in several major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Baltimore, the number of ghost guns has either stabilized or decreased.
However, manufacturers and gun rights organizations have questioned the rule in court, arguing that selling gun parts to enthusiasts has long been legal and that most criminals use traditional firearms.
They accuse the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) of overreach. A group composed of over twenty Republican-leaning states stated in court documents that “only Congress is the institution to decide how to handle the risks associated with specific products.”
Federal Judge Reed O’Connor of Texas sided with their argument and overturned the ATF’s regulations in 2023. The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld O’Connor’s ruling in the case of Garland v. VanDerStok.
However, the government contends that the law allows for regulating weapons that can be easily modified into firearms. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote that the Fifth Circuit’s decision would allow anyone to “purchase kits online and assemble a fully functioning firearm in minutes – with no background check, record-keeping, or serial number, resulting in a flood of untraceable ghost guns into our communities.”
This case does not directly involve the Second Amendment right to bear arms but rather focuses on federal agency authority. Earlier this summer, the Supreme Court overturned a Trump-era gun regulation concerning bump stocks, ruling that the ATF exceeded its authority by banning bump stocks as illegal machine guns.
In the ghost guns case, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration last year, allowing the regulation to take effect in a 5-4 vote, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal justices to form the majority.
(Translated and referenced from an Associated Press report)