The Supreme Court will take up its first major case of the new term Tuesday, when it decides whether to uphold federal regulations on ghost guns. You can listen to the 10 a.m. Eastern time oral argument here. Here’s what to know.

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What is a ghost gun?

A ghost gun is typically assembled by its owner at home using purchased parts, a kit or even pieces made by a 3D printer. A ghost gun can often be put together in less than an hour and is a fully functional weapon.

Before 2022, ghost guns were not subject to the same regulations as other commercially purchased firearms, which helped fuel an explosion in their popularity. Ghost guns did not have serial numbers, buyers did not have to undergo a background check to purchase them, and sellers did not have to maintain records of their sales.

Many hobbyists love the ease of purchasing ghost gun kits and parts online, but law enforcement officials have increasingly raised alarms about their use in crime over the last decade.

In 2017, police submitted about 1,800 ghost guns for tracing, but that number skyrocketed to more than 19,000 in 2021, according to the Justice Department. Those figures included weapons linked to nearly 700 homicides or attempted homicides.

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What the case is about

Ghost guns were largely untraceable because of their lack of serial numbers and sales records. People who were prohibited from owning guns, such as felons, could readily buy them since no background check was required.

The issues prompted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms to classify ghost gun kits and partially completed frames and receivers – the pieces of guns that hold the barrel and firing mechanism – as firearms under the nation’s main gun control law in 2022. That subjected ghost guns to the same regulations as weapons made by licensed manufacturers.

Soon after, a handful of gun owners, gun groups and plaintiffs from the parts industry sued to block the regulations. A federal district court judge in Texas issued a summary judgment against ATF in 2023, ruling the agency exceeded its authority in issuing the rule.

The government appealed, but the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans upheld the lower court’s decision. The Supreme Court then agreed to take up the case.

While the legal wrangling was going on, the justices voted 5-4 to temporarily allow the regulations to take effect.

The Supreme Court will now examine two technical questions: whether ghost gun kits that can be readily assembled into weapons meet the definition of a firearm under the Gun Control Act of 1968, and whether partially completed frames and receivers can be regulated under the same law.

Essentially, the court must determine when parts of guns are far enough along in the manufacturing and assembly process that they can be classified as a gun under the law. The question may be legalistic, but it has immense real world implications.

“Under the Fifth Circuit’s interpretation, anyone could buy a kit online and assemble a fully functional gun in minutes – no background check, records, or serial number required,” Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar argues in her brief. “The result would be a flood of untraceable ghost guns into our Nation’s communities, endangering the public and thwarting law-enforcement efforts to solve violent crimes.”

Those challenging the regulations argue that the Gun Control Act covers only complete guns, not parts, and say that the new rules depart from past ATF practice. The challengers also argue the guns are not as easy to assemble as the government claims.

“The target of ATF’s new regulation was the industry that had arisen to cater to law abiding citizens making their own firearms,” they wrote in their brief.

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How the Supreme Court could rule

The justices have been highly skeptical of gun regulation in recent terms.

Most famously, the conservative majority issued a landmark decision in 2022 that struck down a New York law barring the concealed carry of loaded firearms. That ruling required any firearms regulations to have a historical parallel, leading to a flood of challenges against gun regulations.

Last term, the court overturned a ban on bump stock devices, which allow semiautomatic rifles to fire hundreds of shots per minute. Also last term, the court upheld a law banning those subject to domestic violence restraining orders from possessing weapons.

But despite the court’s general antipathy toward gun regulation, there are indicators the justices could side with the government in the ghost guns case.

The court’s three liberals were joined by conservatives John G. Roberts Jr. and Amy Coney Barrett in temporarily allowing the rules to go into effect, signaling that the court feels there is a possibility it could overturn the lower court ruling.

The practical implications of striking down the rules could also give the court pause – potentially allowing those with nefarious intent to easily purchase virtually untraceable firearms.

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Impact for states with ghost gun bans

The case before the Supreme Court deals with the federal regulation of ghost guns, so any ruling would not directly affect ghost gun regulations and bans that have been enacted in more than 15 states, including California, Illinois and Maryland.

Still, 24 states filed a friend of the court brief urging the justices to uphold the federal regulations, arguing they are an important complement to state efforts to combat a problem that is national in scope.

“The [regulation] is a vital backstop to states’ efforts to stem the flow of ghost guns and combat the violence engendered by prohibited persons possessing untraceable weapons,” the states wrote.

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(c) Washington Post