In a gut punch to Second Amendment defenders, the Supreme Court today upheld a Biden administration rule clamping down on “ghost guns,” those untraceable firearms that patriots and hobbyists have long cherished as a symbol of American freedom.
With a 7-2 decision, the court greenlit a radical overreach by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), mandating serial numbers, background checks, and age verification for gun kits bought online.
Last year, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a 2022 rule aimed at weapons that could be built from parts bought online without a background check exceeded the agency’s authority.
All three judges on the panel were appointed by former President Donald Trump.
The rule redefined the legal meaning of “firearm,” “frame,” and “receiver” as written in the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Judge Kurt Engelhardt wrote in the decision that “law-making power—the ability to transform policy into real-world obligations—lies solely with the legislative branch.”
“An agency cannot label conduct lawful one day and felonious the next—yet that is exactly what ATF accomplishes through its Final Rule,” he wrote.
In a concurring opinion, Judge Andrew Oldham fired a magazine of zingers at the ATF.
“ATF’s overarching goal in the Final Rule is to replace a clear, bright-line rule with a vague, indeterminate, multi-factor balancing test. ATF’s rationale: The new uncertainty will act like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the heads of American gun owners,” Oldham wrote, referring to an ancient tale of a deadly blade suspended by a single strand of horsehair.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the Biden regime regulation imposing stringent controls on so-called “ghost guns.”
At the heart of the case, Bondi v. VanDerStok, was the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)’s 2022 rule redefining the term “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968 to include certain weapon parts kits and unfinished frames and receivers—items that law-abiding hobbyists, veterans, and collectors have used for decades to legally build their own firearms at home.
Despite the plain language of the statute, the Supreme Court—led by Justice Neil Gorsuch and joined by the Court’s liberal bloc—found that the ATF’s sweeping interpretation was not “facially inconsistent” with the law. This decision hands the previous administration a major victory.
In other words, your partially milled piece of aluminum is now a “firearm” because the ATF says so.
Even more dangerous is the precedent this sets: if the government can declare an unfinished product a “weapon,” what’s to stop them from expanding that logic to raw materials, tools, or even 3D printer files?
This 7-2 decision mandates that firearm kits sold online must include serial numbers and that purchasers undergo background checks and age verification.
Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented, standing firm in their defense of constitutional gun rights.
Justice Thomas, in a powerful dissent, called out the Court’s majority of rewriting federal law to hand more power to the executive branch—specifically unelected bureaucrats at ATF.
He accuses the Court dangerous precedent: Thomas warns that by accepting the ATF’s interpretation, the Court opens the door to further regulatory overreach without Congressional authorization.
Thomas rejects the majority’s reliance on the concept of “artifact nouns” (used to describe unfinished objects), saying this linguistic theory has no place in serious statutory interpretation.
Alito agrees with Thomas and adds that the ATF’s rule targets people who lawfully build firearms at home, with vague and overly broad regulations.
Alito criticizes the ATF for regulating not just nearly-complete frames, but also tools, jigs, and even instructions. He warns this is a massive expansion of power.
Selective Enforcement Risk: Alito highlights the lack of clear boundaries, meaning innocent Americans may face prosecution without knowing they violated any law.
You can read the ruling below:
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