In a 7-2 decision handed down Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Biden-era rules declaring that “ghost guns” should be treated like regular firearms, making purchases privy to background checks and requiring the guns to carry serial numbers.
Some Wyoming gun rights activists blasted the ruling, telling Cowboy State Daily that it will do nothing to keep guns away from criminals, but will restrict law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights.
“This (ghost guns) is just the latest boogeyman that the left is trying to use to infringe on our gun rights,” said Aaron Dorr, policy director for Wyoming Gun Owners.
Mark Jones of Buffalo, national director for Gun Owners of America, said the moniker “ghost guns,” like “assault weapon,” is a buzz term meant to incite baseless worry.
“Americans have been making homemade firearms since the beginning of our country,” he said. “That concept has been labeled ‘ghost guns’ by anti-gunners to affect law-abiding people.”
“Ghost guns” are a commonly used term for firearms that can be assembled at home from kits made by 3D printers or ordered online.
They typically haven’t come with serial numbers, whereas factory-made firearms from commercial gun manufactures have serial numbers stamped into them.
‘Criminals Find Them Attractive’
Proponents of regulating ghost guns argue that without serial numbers, they are essentially untraceable, which makes it easier for them to get into the hands of criminals.
There’s been an increase in the number of ghost guns showing up at crime scenes, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice.
In 2017, fewer than 1,700 were recovered by officers at crime scenes, whereas 27,000 were recovered in 2023, according to the agency.
Luigi Mangione has been accused of using a pistol made with a 3D printer in the Dec. 4, 2024, ambush slaying of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in New York City.
Writing the high court’s majority opinion, Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred with commonly voiced concerns about ghost guns.
“Some home hobbyists enjoy assembling them. But criminals also find them attractive,” he stated.
‘Legislating From The Bench’
Dorr and Jones said that it should have been outside of the high court’s purview to put separate firearms parts or parts kits in the same category as fully assembled and functional firearms.
But adding requirements for serial numbers and background checks for firearms kits or parts does just that, they said.
Jones said he agreed with the dissenting opinion of Justice Clarence Thomas in that regard.
“The ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) can’t arbitrarily define things that Congress hasn’t defined,” he said.
And Thomas upheld that principle in his dissenting arguments, stating that only Congress should define kits or parts as being in same category as functional firearms, Jones said.
Otherwise, the Supreme Court is “legislating from the bench,” Jones said.
“It represents a pattern that we’ve been seeing over several decades, of legislating from the bench” regarding firearms regulations, Jones said.
Criminals Have ‘Always Gotten Guns’
Dorr said that the court following Biden’s lead in designating kits as firearms won’t do anything to make people safer from criminals.
Criminals can get firearms through the black market, or by stealing them, he said.
“They’re going to get guns where they’ve always gotten guns,” he said. “You’re only making it harder for innocent people to defend themselves.”
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
