The Biden administration has recently filed an appeal with the Supreme Court, challenging a 2022 Fifth Circuit ruling concerning “ghost guns,” also known as weapon-part kits that can be assembled into a firearm without registration. This appeal marks yet another turn in the ongoing legal saga around the regulation of these weapons in the United States.
The contention largely revolves around the interpretation of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), which defines a “firearm” as ‘any weapon which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive’. In April 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) issued a Final Order amending the definitions of “firearm” and “frame or receiver,” in an effort to place under scrutiny the rising number of ghost guns.
However, the Final Order faced a challenge in the US Appeals Court for the Fifth Circuit. It was here that the court deemed it an illegitimate use of power on the ATF’s part, maintaining that the GCA did not provide definitions for “frame or receiver.” The Fifth Circuit also held that the new definitions under the Final Order were an unlawful exercise of authority by the ATF. According to the court, unless the Congress chose to expand or alter the language of the Gun Control Act, the ATF was obligated to act within the existing limits of the statutory text.
In response, the Biden administration now argues that the provisions of the Final Rule clearly reflect the plain meaning of the relevant sections of the GCA. It specifically points to the part of the Final Rule that addresses only weapon parts kits that might ‘readily … be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted’ into a functional weapon.
This development adds another layer to the ongoing gun control debate before the Supreme Court. Besides this case, the Court also heard oral arguments over a ban on firearms for people subjected to domestic violence restraining orders in November last year, and no doubt we will continue to see more heated discussions on gun control in the future.
For more details, please refer to the full article on JURIST – News.