SCOTUS Weighs Ghost Gun Regulations

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Facts

  • On Tuesday, SCOTUS began hearing arguments in a case challenging the Biden administration's 2022 regulation of "ghost guns," which are firearm kits without serial numbers that can be obtained online and assembled in less than 30 minutes.[1][2]
  • The justices largely framed their questions based on whether the kits could be classified as guns in order to be regulated as such.[3]
  • The 2022 rule classifies the kits as firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968, requiring serial numbers, background checks, and age verification for buyers. These kits have been increasingly linked to crimes, with recoveries by law enforcement rising from about 1.8K in 2016 to nearly 20K in 2021, according to the Justice Department.[1][2]
  • A group of gun makers and gun-rights supporters brought this suit, arguing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) overstepped its authority, contending that Congress should decide how to address the potential risks from these products.[1][3]
  • The Biden administration appealed to SCOTUS after a US district judge in Texas sided with the plaintiffs in a ruling that the US 5th Circuit Court of Appeals mostly upheld.[3]
  • Although it's unknown how the justices will rule, Conservative Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal justices in voting to allow the regulation to be enforced during litigation in 2023.[2][4]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]The Guardian, [3]Associated Press and [4]USA Today.

Narratives

  • Republican narrative, as provided by Breitbart and Townhall. The ATF has overstepped its authority, potentially criminalizing hobbyists and law-abiding citizens. Homemade guns are older than the country. Criminals aren't manufacturing their own weapons, so all this rule does is impose an unnecessary cost on law-abiding gun dealers, manufacturers, and owners.
  • Democratic narrative, as provided by MSNBC. It's naive to think these kits don't appeal more to criminals than hobbyists, who wouldn't get much enjoyment from something that can be assembled so quickly. Thus, the government is well within its rights to regulate — not ban — these kits to make sure they don't proliferate in communities and endanger citizens.