SCOTUS Rules In Favor Of The Administrative State in “Ghost Gun” Case
The Supreme Court Makes a decision, regarding firearms, the decision left to the untrained eye, which will say mine seems to be a problem for gun owners and seems to be a problem for the idea of being able to keep and bear arms, the 7 – 2 Supreme Court decision upholding an ATF rule.. department of about, you know, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms that was put forth under the Biden administration treating unfinished frames and receivers, do-it-yourself gun making kits, as fully functional firearms subject to federal law. This was written by Gorsuch, dissent from Alito and Clarence Thomas. I’m confused because there’s a second part to this story, which is that it focuses not on the 2nd Amendment, but the Administrative Procedures Act. Guy Relford joins us right now. He is the Gun Guy at relfordlaw.com, Second Amendment attorney, creator of the 2A project, and is the host of the Gun Guy Show on 93.1 FM. WIBC. Guy Relford let’s start with the basics. Why does this case make its way to the Supreme Court?
Well, the 5th Circuit, which is the federal appellate court over district courts in Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana, has really sort of set a precedent for striking down gun law, after gun law. And this particular regulation passed, as you said. Tony, under the administrative or excuse me, under the Biden administration that regulates incomplete firearms and firearm kits, was found to not comply with the Administrative Procedures Act, could not be consistent with the definitions of Congress in defining a firearm. So, the 5th Circuit struck it down. The government then took it up. The Supreme Court Supreme Court decided to take it and a lot of us when the Supreme Court decided to take this case really predicted this outcome for a couple different reasons. But it doesn’t refer to all unfinished firearms. It doesn’t refer to all or even affect all firearm kits. It just said that a facial challenge, which means that the regulation was unenforceable and illegal as applied to any unfinished firearm or any firearm kit that they said that the challenge fails. Some kits may be so incomplete as do not constitute a firearm and therefore not be regulated. Others though clearly according to the Supreme Court are finished enough and close enough to being a firearm that they constitute a firearm. It could be regulated as firearms, meaning they have to be serialized, they have to be sold subject to a background check, and the prohibited possessors can’t buy them. So, this leads to a couple of questions first, that the focus was about the Administrative Procedures Act and maybe a definition of what that is and not the Second Amendment does that matter for people like yourself who advocate for and defend and push for better gun access? And certainly, less regulations on the Second Amendment as a whole. It does matter, and there’s a general rule that the Supreme Court observes, which is if it can uphold a statute without addressing constitutionality, then it will do so. And that’s even discussed in one of the dissenting opinions. But that’s what it chose to do so. Exactly to your point, it’s not a Second Amendment decision at all. It’s just simply said the challenge was that the regulations definition of firearm and the regulations definition of frame or receiver of a firearm, which are also considered. Firearms that challenge was that the regulation was inconsistent with the rules of Congress, therefore violated the Administrative Procedures Act. And that’s the only issue really brought before the court, and it’s the only issue the court decided. So, there is still available out there a Second Amendment challenge on the same regulation.
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