In a narrow 5-4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court temporarily reinstated a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ruling related to “ghost guns.” The latter are defined as weapon part kits that users can assemble into live firearms without any registration requirements. In the ruling, the Supreme Court effectively froze a decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas that had previously vacated the rule. The order will keep the ATF rule in place until the legal challenge is addressed by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The complainants, a group that includes firearm owners as well as manufacturers, contest the ATF’s regulatory powers as established in the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA). They argue that the ATF’s rule, particularly its expanded definitions of “frame or receiver” and “firearm,” extends beyond the agency’s statutory authority, as prescribed under 28 CFR 0.130.
The ATF’s counterargument relies on the premise that a parts kit capable of being rapidly converted into a functioning weapon should be classified as a “firearm” as defined by the GCA. Quoting directly from that legislation, a firearm constitutes “any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive; [] the frame or receiver of any such weapon; [] any firearm muffler or firearm silencer; or [] any destructive device.”
The rule in question has attracted significant attention, with the District of Columbia along with multiple states submitting an amicus brief that argues in favor of the ATF ruling’s fit with the comprehensive GCA framework. Furthermore, a group of gun prevention organizations filed their own amicus brief that pledged support for the ATF’s position and critiqued the district court’s judgement as being counter to the GCA’s intended purpose.