Supreme Court hears arguments over ATF rule treating 'ghost-gun' kits and unfinished receivers as firearms

The Supreme Court heard argument in Garland v. Vanderstock (No. 23852), a challenge to an ATF regulation that treats certain parts kits and partially finished frames or receivers as "firearms" under the Gun Control Act of 1968.

General Prelogar, arguing for the government, told the Court the statute requires firearms sellers and manufacturers to mark products with serial numbers, maintain sales records and conduct background checks, and that recent products marketed as "kits" allowed consumers to produce functional guns in minutes "with no serial number, background check, or records required." She said the ATF rule simply applies the long‑standing textual test—whether a product can be "readily converted" to function—and explicitly accounts for jigs and templates that make conversion fast and essentially "dummy proof." "Those untraceable guns are attractive to people who can't lawfully purchase them or who plan to use them in crimes," she said,…