OAN’s Abril Elfi
4:51 PM – Tuesday, August 8, 2023
The Supreme Court has sided with the Biden Administration on temporarily regulating firearms without a serial number that can be constructed from home kits and purchased by minors, also known as “ghost guns.”
On Tuesday, the court decided to put a Texas federal judge’s decision on hold regarding the Biden administration’s restriction of ghost gun kits.
The majority was formed by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett, together with the court’s three Democrat members. The regulation would have been put on hold during the appeals process by Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Clarence Thomas.
The rule will remain in effect until the administration files an appeal with the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, or possibly, the Supreme Court.
The regulations were released by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) last year in order to address what it alleged has been a rapid rise in the availability of ghost firearms.
The government described the weapons as a serious threat to public safety and says they are difficult for law enforcement to locate.
The rule was invalidated in late June by United States District Judge Reed O’Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, who found that it went beyond the scope of the ATF’s power.
According to O’Connor, not all of a gun’s components are covered under the federal law’s definition of a firearm. He also said that Congress could alter the legislation.
Attorneys for the Firearms Policy Coalition sided with O’Connor. Cody J. Wisniewski, FPCAF’s General Counsel, also spoke on the topic.
“We’re deeply disappointed that the Court pressed pause on our defeat of ATF’s rule effectively redefining ‘firearm’ and ‘frame or receiver’ under federal law,” said Wisniewski “Regardless of today’s decision, we’re still confident that we will yet again defeat ATF and its unlawful rule at the Fifth Circuit when that Court has the opportunity to review the full merits of our case.”
According to reports, the vote was not a final decision and the Supreme Court could still hear the case and issue a detailed decision on the qualifications.
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