The Supreme Court has allowed the Biden administration to once again regulate “ghost guns” ― weapons without serial numbers that are sold without background checks ― the same way as traditional firearms.
The Supreme Court issued the 5-4 ruling on Tuesday. Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh were in the minority and would have denied the Biden administration’s request for a temporary stay of a Texas judge’s ruling that halted the regulations in July.
Joining the majority were Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Chief Justice John Roberts, who sided with the court’s three liberals: Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. As is typical with emergency applications, no rationale was given in the court’s reply.
Ghost guns are often assembled from kits sold online for a few hundred dollars. Local law enforcement agencies around the country have warned about the weapons because they do not have serial numbers and are sold without background checks, making them difficult to trace. Some states have banned them.
President Joe Biden announced in April 2022 that the federal definition of a firearm would be updated to include ghost guns, and the rule went into effect four months later.
“You know, if you buy a couch you have to assemble, it’s still a couch,” Biden said after announcing the rule last year. “If you order a package, like this one over here, that includes the parts you need, the directions for assembling a functioning firearm, you bought a gun.”
“Folks, a felon, a terrorist, a domestic abuser can go from a gun kit to a gun in as little as 30 minutes,” Biden noted.
Gun owners, a company that makes ghost gun kits, and a gun owners’ advocacy group are suing the administration over the rule. They argue that only the legislative branch ― not the executive branch ― has the authority to amend the definition of a firearm contained in the Gun Control Act of 1968.
A federal judge in Texas sided with the group in early July, striking down the rule nationwide. Reed O’Connor, a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, said the administration had overstepped its authority.
The Biden administration then asked the Supreme Court for an emergency intervention while it continues to appeal O’Connor’s decision.