The
administration asked the justices to halt a Texas-based federal
judge’s nationwide ruling that invalidated a Justice Department
restriction on the sale of ghost gun kits while the
administration appeals to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals.
The Justice Department rule, issued in 2022 to target the rapid
proliferation of the homemade weapons, bans "buy build shoot"
kits without serial numbers that individuals can get online or
at a store without a background check. The kits can be readily
assembled into a working firearm in as little as 20 minutes.
The rule clarified that ghost guns qualify as “firearms” under
the federal Gun Control Act, requiring serial numbers and
manufacturers be licensed. Sellers of the kits also must become
licensed and run background checks prior to a sale.
Several plaintiffs, including two gun owners and two gun rights
advocacy groups challenged the rule in federal court in Texas.
U.S. Judge Reed O’Connor on July 5 issued a nationwide order
blocking the rule, finding that the administration exceeded its
authority in adopting it. On July 24, the 5th Circuit refused to
block O'Connor's order pending appeal.
The administration warned the justices that allowing the judge’s
ruling to stand would enable an “irreversible flow of large
numbers of untraceable ghost guns into our nation’s
communities.”
In 2021, there were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported
to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives
(ATF) as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal
investigations – a tenfold increase from 2016, according to
White House statistics.
(Reporting by Andrew Chung in New York and John Kruzel; Editing
by Aurora Ellis)
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