The Supreme Court has made a significant ruling regarding "ghost guns," which are homemade firearms that can be assembled from parts kits. On Wednesday, the Court upheld a federal law that restricts the sale of these kits, allowing unlicensed individuals to create guns at home that lack serial numbers and cannot be traced by law enforcement. This decision came down in a 7-2 vote, affirming that these ghost guns are indeed classified as firearms under federal law.
Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, speaking for the majority, emphasized the importance of the federal tracing system used by law enforcement agencies to connect firearms to their owners. The ruling supports a regulation put in place by the Biden administration in 2022, which has garnered backing from police and prosecutors across the country.
The dissenting opinions from Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. highlighted a divide in the Court regarding gun control. This decision also reverses a previous ruling from conservative judges in Texas, who argued that Congress had not given federal regulators the authority to ban these parts kits.
Gun control advocates view this ruling as a victory. John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, stated that the decision is beneficial for public safety, as ghost guns can be just as lethal as regular firearms. He noted that they should be regulated similarly to traditional guns.
The new regulations require gun manufacturers and dealers to conduct background checks, verify the age of buyers, ensure that guns have serial numbers, and maintain records of sales. This is particularly important as the number of ghost guns recovered from crime scenes has dramatically increased in recent years. In fact, the Justice Department reported that local law enforcement seized over 19,000 ghost guns in 2021, showing a tenfold rise in just four years.
California has already taken steps to ban the sale of ghost gun kits, but state Attorney General Rob Bonta argued that a federal ban is crucial for enforcing restrictions on mail-order kits. He pointed out that nearly 30% of all guns recovered in California were unserialized, with the number of such guns skyrocketing from 167 in 2016 to nearly 12,900 in 2022.
The Supreme Court’s ruling reflects a broader concern about the accessibility of firearms and the potential for these untraceable guns to fall into the wrong hands. As gun violence remains a pressing issue in the U.S., this decision marks a notable moment in the ongoing debate over gun control and public safety.