The Supreme Court upheld Biden's administration's “ghost guns” restrictions Deciding 7-2 Wednesday, It rejects challenges posed by gun rights groups and several manufacturers.
But the future of crackdown is blurry as the new Trump administration could dictate a review of all Biden-era firearms regulations and consider withdrawing restrictions.
For now, however, the Supreme Court has maintained its unharmed efforts with Biden-era Alcohol Bureau, cigarettes, firearms and explosives (ATFs), and has fought ghost guns that are sold as their own kits, depending on the number of explosives seized in crime.
“Future cases may present other, more difficult questions about ATF regulations. But we will take the case when they come and only resolve the questions raised to us today,” Judge Neil Gauche wrote for the majority.
Conservative justice Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito opposed.
In 2022, the ATF began regulating ghost guns as other firearms, exposing devices to requirements such as serial numbers and background checks. Trump's ATF could consider withdrawing restrictions under new proxy director Kash Patel.
Five gun manufacturers and distributors, two gun rights groups and two individuals sued Biden's regulations, convincing the lower court of appeals that the administration outweighed its powers because the long-standing definition of “firearms” under federal law did not cover devices.
The 1968 Gun Control Act “defines firearms that contain weapons designed or could easily be converted to expel projectiles by the action of explosives.
The Biden administration argued that the parts kits used to quickly assemble ghost guns are complete enough to meet the standards.
The government argued that regulating devices is important given the explosive popularity of ghost guns. The Justice Department said law enforcement seized about 1,600 ghost guns used in crime in 2017, and that figure rose to over 19,000 in 2021, making it difficult to track devices normally.
