The US Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold a Biden Administration regulation targeting “ghost guns” — firearms assembled from components or kits that lack serial numbers and are untraceable. Many hobbyists enjoy making these types of firearms.
The Biden rule mades unserialized “buy build shoot” kits illegal. Gun plans and molding materials for 3-D printers are also illegal, as is making a firearm with a 3-D printer if there is no serial number on the firearm.
The court decision bolsters the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to regulate at least some of these weapons under the Gun Control Act of 1968. Gun control advocates applauded the court ruling.
The majority opinion was authored by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who concluded that the ATF’s rule falls within the scope of the 1968 law, which grants the agency broad authority to regulate firearms in interstate commerce.
Gorsuch wrote that the rule aligns with Congress’s intent to curb the circulation of dangerous weapons while balancing Second Amendment considerations.
The high court stopped short of issuing a blanket endorsement of the regulation’s application. The decision leaves room for future challenges to specific kits or products, which means individuals or manufacturers could contest the rule’s authority on a case-by-case basis.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, arguing that the Biden Administration’s ATF overstepped its authority.
Thomas’ dissent says the regulation expands the definition of a “firearm” beyond what Congress originally intended in 1968, imposing new restrictions without congressional approval.
Alito questioned the rule’s fundamental compatibility with Second Amendment rights and warned of its infringement on the freedoms of law-abiding citizens.
