Washington — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration rule that regulates unserialized firearms called ghost guns, delivering a win for federal efforts to curb gun violence.
The high court ruled 7-2 in finding that the rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is not facially inconsistent with federal firearms law. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the opinion for the majority.
“The GCA embraces, and thus permits ATF to regulate, some weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers, including those we have discussed,” Gorsuch wrote, referencing the Gun Control Act of 1968.
The case before the Supreme Court did not involve the Second Amendment, but whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went too far when it issued the rule subjecting ghost guns to the same requirements as commercial firearms.
It follows a decision from the high court last year that struck down a measure from the first Trump administration that outlawed bump stocks, which are devices that increase a firearm’s rate of fire. It’s unclear whether President Trump will keep the regulation in place or take steps to rescind it.
The court was considering an appeal from the Biden administration of a lower court ruling that struck down the measure.
The regulation, issued in 2022, sought to address a surge in crimes committed using ghost guns, which can be made with 3D printers or kits and parts available online. The weapons don’t have serial numbers or transfer records, making them difficult for law enforcement to trace and attractive to people who are prohibited from purchasing firearms.
The rule clarified the definition of “firearm” in the Gun Control Act of 1968 to include a weapon parts kit that can be assembled into an operational weapon in less than 30 minutes, and the incomplete frame of a handgun or receiver of a rifle.
By seeking to regulate the kits under the decades-old law, the rule subjects ghost gun manufacturers and sellers to the same requirements as commercial gun makers, meaning they have to be licensed, mark their products with serial numbers, maintain certain records and run background checks on interested buyers.
Shortly before the regulation took effect, gun owners, advocacy groups and the makers of parts kits challenged it in federal court, arguing that ATF didn’t have the authority to change the definition of “firearm” to cover weapons part kits.
A federal district court judge and a panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit struck down the rule. The appeals court found that Congress did not authorize ATF to regulate kits under the Gun Control Act.
The Biden administration had warned the Supreme Court that if it were to strike down the rule, then minors, criminals and others who cannot have guns could instead buy kits that could be assembled into a functioning, untraceable firearm in a matter of minutes.
The Justice Department said the measure has been successful at addressing the surge in crimes committed using ghost guns, and the market for the weapons has effectively collapsed in the nearly two years the rule has been in place.
A group of major U.S. cities also said the regulation has been effective at reducing the use of ghost guns in their municipalities. In New York, ghost gun recoveries fell in 2023 for the first time in four years, and in Baltimore, they decreased in 2023 for the first time since 2019.
During an earlier stage in the litigation over the Biden administration’s rule, the Supreme Court allowed ATF to enforce the requirements until it issued a decision.
