The Supreme Court voted 7–2 on March 26 to uphold the Biden administration’s rule regulating so-called ghost guns that can be assembled at home. The majority opinion in Bondi v. VanDerStok was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch.
In October 2023, the Supreme Court reinstated the rule, which lower courts had blocked. “Ghost gun” is a pejorative term used by gun control advocates to describe a homemade firearm that lacks a serial number and therefore can’t be tracked by law enforcement.
Although some states regulate homemade guns, gun control groups have been trying for years to ban or regulate homemade guns at the federal level but have failed to persuade the U.S. Congress to act.
Then-President Joe Biden defended the rule, claiming that privately made guns, which are often made with gun kits, are the “weapons of choice for many criminals.”
The government’s “frame or receiver” rule dates to April 2022. It requires individuals who assemble homemade firearms to add serial numbers to them. The rule also mandates background checks for consumers who buy gun-assembly kits from dealers.
Pieces of guns that are shipped are nonetheless guns subject to existing laws, the government argues.
As reported by Associated Press:
Ghost gun sales have grown exponentially since kits that let people build them easily at home came into the market, Gorsuch wrote. “Some home hobbyists enjoy assembling them. But criminals also find them attractive,” he said.
The number of ghost guns found at crime scenes around the country has also soared, according to federal data. They rose from fewer than 1,700 recovered by law enforcement in 2017 to more than 27,000 in 2023, according to Justice Department data.
Since the federal rule was finalized, though, ghost gun numbers have flattened out or declined in several major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Baltimore, according to court documents. Manufacturing of miscellaneous gun parts also dropped 36% overall, the Justice Department has said.
Ghost guns have been used in high-profile crimes, including a mass shooting carried out with an AR-15-style ghost gun in Philadelphia that left five people dead. Police believe a ghost gun used in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in Manhattan was made on a 3D printer rather than assembled from a kit.
The Supreme Court disagreed, pointing out that the law gives the ATF the power to regulate items that can be quickly made into working firearms.
“The ‘Buy Build Shoot’ kit can be ‘readily converted’ into a firearm too, for it requires no more time, effort, expertise, or specialized tools to complete,” Gorsuch wrote.
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