SCOTUS to Take Up Ghost Gun Case

In 2022, in yet another case of the Biden administration trying to blame the sword for the hand that wields it, Biden's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) issued a rule clamping down on "buy-build-shoot" kits. These kits, BATFE claims, can be purchased without a background check and used to assemble guns for personal use that do not bear serial numbers. There are several problems with that assertion, but now we see that the Supreme Court will be taking up a challenge to that rule this autumn.

The rule in question was issued in 2022 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to regulate "buy build shoot" kits that are available online or in stores that allow any individual to assemble a working firearm without a background check or the usual serial numbers required by the federal government.
The Fifth Circuit late last year struck down the rule, but the Justice Department appealed to the Supreme Court. The DOJ argued that the Gun Control Act of 1968 permits the rule because it defines a "firearm" to include "any weapon…which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive," as well as "the frame or receiver of any such weapon."
However, gun rights groups say that the rule is "unconstitutional and abusive."

The Biden administration seems to view the Constitution as something that just applies to other people.

Federal Judge: Biden Admin 'Ghost Gun' Ban Doesn't Go Far Enough

Here's where the administration's argument in this case falls into the realm of the ridiculous:

The ATF's rule requires unfinished parts of a firearm, like the frame of a handgun or the receiver of a long gun, to be treated like a completed firearm. These parts need to be licensed and must have serial numbers.
The rule also requires manufacturers to run background checks before selling these parts, as they are required to do for whole commercial firearms. The Biden administration argued the rule is necessary to respond to rising numbers of untraceable guns.

Here's why this rule won't work.

As with all gun control and all similar laws, it won't have any effect on criminals. Why? Because (and yes, I'm belaboring the obvious here) criminals don't obey laws. These parts kits generally include what is often referred to as an "80%" receiver, the receiver being the part - the only part - of a firearm to be identified as the "firearm," and generally the only part bearing a serial number. While an 80% receiver can be converted into a 100% receiver with a drill press and a few hand tools, where does BATFE intend to draw the line? Will a 70% receiver also be regulated? A 50% receiver? A 35% receiver? A billet of steel or aluminum? The only thing this rule will do is open up a lucrative black market for untraceable guns, which can be turned out in great numbers in basement workshops. BATFE is wasting their time and our money with this nonsense.

Furthermore, many weapons, like the inestimably popular AR-15-pattern rifles, function very well with a synthetic lower receiver, that being the serial-numbered part on those weapons. Those can be turned out on any 3-D printing setup, many of which are on the market and which can be put into use almost anywhere. How do I know this? Because I have an AR-15 with a synthetic lower receiver. My wife has an AR-15 with a synthetic lower receiver. They are both legal, and they both work very well.

This rule by BATFE, which would be an awesome store but makes for a rather poor federal agency, is not only intrusive but is also unnecessary and, ultimately, futile. It's a waste of BATFE's time and taxpayer money. The Supreme Court should follow the 5th Circuit and slap this nonsense down. Rest assured that we will be on hand when the Supreme Court rules on this.