On Tuesday, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok, a case that could redefine the federal government’s ability to regulate “ghost guns”—untraceable firearms assembled from kits or components without serial numbers. The Biden administration argues that these kits, which can be quickly turned into functioning firearms, should be subject to the same regulations as traditional guns. The case arose out of a 2022 rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and implemented at the behest of the Biden Administration that extended the definition of “firearm” under the 1968 Gun Control Act to include gun kits that can be “readily converted” into operational firearms.
