On Tuesday (8), the Supreme Court of the United States temporarily revived the Biden administration’s regulation on so-called “ghost guns” – kits for assembling untraceable homemade firearms that can be purchased online.
In defending the rule, government officials stated that the popularity of these weapons has increased in recent years, particularly among criminals who are prohibited from purchasing conventional firearms.
The Court did not explain the reasons for its decision, which is typical when judges act on emergency requests. The order was provisional, leaving the regulation in effect while a challenge proceeds through the courts.
The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the three liberal members of the court – Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson – to form the majority.
The regulation, issued in 2022 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, expanded the department’s interpretation of the definition of “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to include “ghost guns” and does not prohibit the sale or possession of kits and components that can be assembled to manufacture firearms, but requires manufacturers and sellers of these kits to obtain licenses, mark their products with serial numbers, and conduct criminal background checks.
Gun owners, advocacy groups, and companies that manufacture or distribute the kits and components have filed a lawsuit challenging the regulation, arguing that it is not authorized by the 1968 law, which defines firearms as weapons that “can be easily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.”
The Biden administration claims there has been an explosion of crimes involving ghost guns. More than 19,000 firearms without serial numbers were recovered by authorities in 2021, compared to about 1,600 in 2017. In the 11 months ending in July, “a total of approximately 23,452 firearms suspected of private manufacture were involved in crime scenes.
These weapons are particularly attractive to criminals and minors and “can be made from kits and parts available online to anyone with a credit card. Anyone with basic tools and rudimentary skills (or access to online video tutorials) can assemble a fully functional firearm in just 20 minutes.
Source: The New York Times