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By Lilith Foster-Collins
News Reporter
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The Supreme Court will hear a challenge Tuesday to a Biden administration regulation targeting ghost guns.
Ghost guns are untraceable firearms assembled from kits that have been increasingly linked to crime in recent years.
The regulation is aimed at kits sold online that can be converted into functional weapons in under 30 minutes. The completed weapons, lacking serial numbers, are nearly impossible for law enforcement to trace.
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The new law mandates that the kits be treated like traditional firearms, which includes adding serial numbers, conducting background checks, and ensuring buyers are at least 21 years old.
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The rule was implemented through an executive action from President Joe Biden.
Ghost gun seizures by police jumped from under 4,000 in 2018 to nearly 20,000 in 2021, according to the Justice Department.
Since the regulation took effect, the number of ghost guns recovered in cities like New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Baltimore has either plateaued or declined, according to court filings.
Gun manufacturers and advocacy groups have challenged the rule in court, arguing that selling gun parts to hobbyists has long been legal and that the majority of crimes involve traditional firearms.
They claim the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives overstepped its authority.
"Congress is the body that gets to decide how to address any risks that might arise from a particular product," a group of over two dozen GOP-led states backing the challengers said in court documents.
In 2023, U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Texas ruled against the regulation, and the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld his decision.
The Biden administration argues that federal law allows for regulation of weapons that "may readily be converted" to fire.
The 5th Circuit's decision would allow anyone to "buy a kit online and assemble a fully functional gun in minutes—no background check, records, or serial number required. The result would be a flood of untraceable ghost guns into our nation's communities," Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote.
Last year, the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration, allowing the rule to take effect in a 5-4 decision.
Conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined the court's three liberal justices to temporarily revive federal ghost gun regulations.
At the time, Shira Feldman, litigation counsel for national gun violence prevention group Brady, told Newsweek via phone that broader implications of ghost guns and their availability on the open market should lead to a stronger response by politicians and general society to limit negative effects in the future.
"Brady is so pleased the ATF took action here because [ghost guns] pose such a serious danger to public health," Brady Chief Legal Officer Douglas Letter told Newsweek via phone, adding that the regulations are important and should be upheld as permanent and not just temporary.
This article includes reporting from The Associated Press
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