The Supreme Court has confirmed, with a 7-2 majority, the regulations introduced by the Biden Administration regarding so-called “ghost guns”– firearm kits that can be purchased online and assembled at home without serial numbers.
The decision marks a rare victory for gun control advocates and signals a success for regulatory policies in a legal context that is generally more inclined to support gun rights.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who issued the ruling, emphasized that these kits can easily be transformed into fully functional firearms, justifying the extension of the regulation implemented in 2022 by the ATF Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
The ruling saw a convergence of both liberal and conservative judges, although Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, accusing the government of overreach.
The measure mandates that ghost gun manufacturers include serial numbers on the kits and conduct background checks on buyers. The ATF justified the regulation by highlighting the exponential increase in the presence of these firearms at crime scenes: from approximately 1,600 cases in 2017, the number rose to over 19,000 in 2021.
According to the 1968 Gun Control Act, producers and sellers are required to conduct background checks and keep records of sales. However, new technologies have rendered the original interpretation of the law obsolete. With the advent of 3D printing and reinforced polymers, it has become exceedingly easy for anyone to assemble a firearm at home using an online kit.
Ghost gun manufacturers and some buyers contested the ATF’s regulation, arguing that these materials cannot be considered firearms as they are sold as mere parts. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals partially accepted this argument, but the Supreme Court overturned the decision, ruling that the primary function of these kits is clearly to transform their components into fully operational firearms.
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rejected the argument that these kits were intended for simple gun enthusiasts and pointed out that the assembly process is extremely fast, unlike the restoration of a classic car, as suggested by the retailers.
The verdict was welcomed enthusiastically by groups like Giffords Law Center, a U.S. nonprofit dedicated to promoting gun control and improving community safety. They believe that the ghost gun industry has long been an escape route for bypassing existing regulations, allowing access to lethal devices by potentially dangerous individuals without any preventive checks.
In contrast, the Firearms Policy Coalition, an organization that defends the right to own firearms, labeled the ruling as a “wrong decision,” emphasizing that it is just one episode in a broader conflict between individual rights and government interference.
It remains uncertain what the approach of the Trump administration will be, as it has recently launched a review of the regulations introduced during the Democratic legislation. The Department of Justice has yet to clarify whether the new government will uphold the ATF laws or seek to revoke them.
In the Country, the number of firearms in circulation has reached staggering proportions. It is estimated that there are over 400 million firearms in the country, a number higher than the total population. This figure underscores a deeply rooted gun culture in American society, where the right to own a firearm is protected by the Second Amendment of the Constitution.
