WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will hear a challenge Tuesday to a Biden administration regulation on ghost guns, the hard-to-track weapons with an exponentially increased link to crime in recent years.
The rule targets gun kits sold online that can be assembled into a functioning weapon in less than 30 minutes. The completed weapons have no serial numbers, making them virtually impossible to trace.
The regulation came after the number of ghost guns seized by police across the country roseThis goes from fewer than 4,000 recovered by law enforcement in 2018 to nearly 20,000 in 2021, according to Justice Department data.
Completed after one executive action from President Joe Biden, the rule requires companies to treat the kits like other firearms by adding serial numbers, conducting background checks and verifying that buyers are 21 or older.
The number ghost guns has since leveled off or declined in several major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Baltimore, according to court documents.
But manufacturers and gun rights groups have challenged the rule in court, arguing that it has long been legal to sell gun parts to hobbyists and that most people who commit crimes use traditional weapons.
They say the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives overstepped its authority. “Congress is the body that must decide how to address any risks that may arise from a particular product,” a group of more than two dozen Republican states backing the challengers wrote in court filings.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor in Texas agreed and struck down the rule in 2023. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld his decision.
Instead, the government argues that the law allows the government to regulate weapons that are “easily converted” to fire. The 5th Circuit’s decision would allow anyone to “purchase a kit online and assemble a fully functional gun in minutes – no background check, data or serial number required.” The result would be a flood of untraceable ghost guns in our nation’s communities.” Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote.
The Supreme Court side along the Biden administration last year, allowing the ordinance to go into effect on a 5-4 vote. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, along with the court’s three liberal members, formed the majority.