Source 1440 Newsletter
SCOTUS Weighs Ghost Guns |
The Supreme Court is hearing its first oral arguments of the 2024-25 term today. The case, Garland v. VanDerStok, surrounds a 2022 regulation on so-called “ghost guns”—untraceable firearm components made through 3D printing, kits, and parts.
At issue is whether the Biden administration overstepped its authority in amending the 1968 definition of a firearm to include parts capable of being converted into a gun in under 30 minutes. The change, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, requires manufacturers to run background checks on buyers and mark products with serial numbers, among other obligations. The amended rule came after what the administration says was a roughly tenfold increase in the number of ghost guns recovered at crime scenes since 2017, with law enforcement recovering ghost guns in up to 15% of gun-related crimes.
The Supreme Court term will last through June, covering cases such as sex-transition procedures, age verification for pornography websites, and nuclear waste. See an overview here. |
Garland v. VanDerStok
Docket No. | Op. Below | Argument | Opinion | Vote | Author | Term |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
23-852 | 5th Cir. | Oct 8, 2024 | TBD | TBD | TBD | OT 2024 |
Issues: (1) Whether “a weapon parts kit that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive” under 27 C.F.R. § 478.11 is a “firearm” regulated by the Gun Control Act of 1968; and (2) whether “a partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver” that is “designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver” under 27 C.F.R. § 478.12(c) is a “frame or receiver” regulated by the act.
SCOTUS
blog Coverage
- Justices to hear challenge to regulation of unserialized ‘ghost guns’ (Amy Howe, October 2, 2024)
- Court schedules first cases for 2024-25 term (Amy Howe, July 26, 2024)
- Justices take up “ghost guns” case for next term (Amy Howe, April 22, 2024)
- Ghost guns, six-person juries, and discretionary visa decisions (John Elwood, April 19, 2024)
- Justices again side with Biden on ghost guns (Amy Howe, October 16, 2023)
- Supreme Court temporarily reinstates rule regulating “ghost guns” (Amy Howe, August 8, 2023)