Supreme Court upholds Biden rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for ghost guns

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Supreme Court upholds Biden rule requiring serial numbers and background checks for ghost guns

2025-03-27 05:05 Last Updated At：05:10

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a Biden administration regulation on the nearly impossible-to-trace weapons called ghost guns, clearing the way for continued serial numbers, background checks and age verification requirements for buying the kits online.

The 7-2 opinion found that existing gun laws allow regulation of the kits increasingly linked to crime. It comes after President Donald Trump ordered a review of federal gun policy that could undermine or reverse regulations championed by his predecessor.

Sales of the homemade firearms grew exponentially as kits allowing for easy at-home building came into the market, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in the majority opinion. “Some home hobbyists enjoy assembling them. But criminals also find them attractive,” he said.

The number of ghost guns found at crime scenes around the country has also soared, according to federal data. Fewer than 1,700 were recovered by law enforcement in 2017, but that number grew to 27,000 in 2023, according to Justice Department data.

Since the federal rule was finalized, though, ghost gun numbers have flattened out or declined in several major cities, including New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Baltimore, according to court documents. Manufacturing of miscellaneous gun parts also dropped 36% overall, the Justice Department has said.

Ghost guns are any privately made firearms without the serial numbers that allow police to trace weapons used in crime. The 2022 regulation was focused on kits sold online with everything needed to build a functioning firearm — sometimes in less than 30 minutes, according to court documents.

Ghost guns have been used in high-profile crimes, including a mass shooting carried out with an AR-15-style ghost gun in Philadelphia that left five people dead. Police believe a ghost gun used in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in Manhattan was made on a 3D printer rather than assembled from a kit of the kind at the center of the Supreme Court case.

Finalized at the direction of then-President Joe Biden, the “frame and receiver” rule requires companies to treat the kits like other firearms by adding serial numbers, running background checks and verifying that buyers are 21 or older.

Gun groups challenged the rule in court in the case known as Garland v. VanDerStok. Most crimes are committed with traditional firearms, not ghost guns, they argued. It's legal for people to build their own firearms at home, the challengers said, arguing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives overstepped its authority by trying to regulate the kits.

The Supreme Court majority disagreed, pointing out that the law gives the ATF the power to regulate items that can be quickly made into working firearms.

“The ‘Buy Build Shoot’ kit can be 'readily converted' into a firearm too, for it requires no more time, effort, expertise, or specialized tools to complete,” Gorsuch wrote, referring to a specific product.

Some kits may take more time to build into guns and therefore fall outside the ATF’s power, he wrote, but many popular kits are subject to regulation.

In response to the ruling, a Justice Department spokesperson said the administration would “continue to support and defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”

Gun safety groups celebrated the ruling, with Everytown Law executive director Eric Tirschwell saying the rule also had broad support from law enforcement. “Fundamentally, today's decision confirms the ghost gun industry is dead as a viable business model," he said.

A Michigan woman whose son lost an eye when he was accidently shot by a friend who bought a ghost gun before he was old enough to legally buy a typical weapon also applauded. “We are deeply relieved by today’s ruling, which will help ensure that a tragedy like ours never happens again,” she said.

New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin said the ATF policy is a major factor in two years of record-low numbers of shootings in his state. “These are common-sense regulations on ghost guns that all too often end up in the hands of felons,” he said.

The court previously expanded Second Amendment rights with a finding that modern gun regulations must fit within historical traditions. The justices also struck down a firearm regulation from President Donald Trump’s first administration, a ban on gun accessories known as bump stocks that enable rapid fire.

In a dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote that the ghost gun rule should meet the same fate. The kits, he wrote, are only firearm parts and shouldn't be subject to a regulation that could open the door to rules on other popular weapons. “Congress could have authorized ATF to regulate any part of a firearm or any object readily convertible into one," he wrote. “But, it did not.”

Justice Samuel Alito also filed his own dissent.

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville in Washington and Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court at https://apnews.com/hub/us-supreme-court.

Protesters rebelling against Elon Musk's purge of US government swarm Tesla showrooms

2025-03-30 05:36 Last Updated At：05:41

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Crowds protesting billionaire Elon Musk’s purge of the U.S. government under President Donald Trump began amassing outside Tesla dealerships throughout the U.S. and in some cities in Europe on Saturday in the latest attempt to dent the fortune of the world’s richest man.

The protesters are trying to escalate a movement targeting Tesla dealerships and vehicles in opposition to Musk’s role as the head of the newly created Department of of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, where he has gained access to sensitive data and shuttered entire agencies as he attempts to slash government spending. The biggest portion of Musk’s estimated $340 billion fortune consists of his stock in the electric vehicle company, which continues to run while also working alongside Trump.

After earlier demonstrations that were somewhat sporadic, Saturday marked the first attempt to surround all 277 of the automaker’s showrooms and service centers in the U.S. in hopes of deepening a recent decline in the company’s sales.

By early afternoon crowds ranging from a few dozen to hundreds of protesters had flocked to Tesla locations in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Minnesota and the automaker's home state of Texas. Pictures posted on social media showed protesters brandishing signs such as “ Honk if you hate Elon ” and “ Fight the billionaire broligarchy.”

As the day progressed, the protests cascaded around the country outside Tesla locations in major cities such as Washington, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati and Seattle, as well as towns in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Colorado. Smaller groups of counterprotesters also showed up at some sites.

“Hey, hey, ho, ho, Elon Musk has got to go!” several dozen people chanted outside a showroom in Dublin, California, about 35 miles (60 miles) east of San Francisco, while a smaller cluster of Trump supporters waved American flags across the street.

A much larger crowd circled another showroom in nearby Berkeley, chanting slogans to the beat of drums.

“We're living in a fascist state,” said Dennis Fagaly, a retired high school teacher from neighboring Oakland, “and we need to stop this or we'll lose our whole country and everything that is good about the United States.”

The Tesla Takedown movement also hoped to rally protesters at more than 230 locations in other parts of the world. Although the turnouts in Europe were not as large, the anti-Musk sentiment was similar.

About two dozen people held signs lambasting the billionaire outside a dealership in London as passing cars and trucks tooted horns in support.

One sign displayed depicted Musk next to an image of Adolf Hitler making the Nazi salute — a gesture that Musk has been accused of reprising shortly after Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration. A person in a Tyrannosaurus rex costume held another sign with a picture of Musk's straight-arm gesture that said, “You thought the Nazis were extinct. Don’t buy a Swasticar.”

“We just want to get loud, make noise, make people aware of the problems that we’re facing,” said Cam Whitten, an American who showed up at the London protest.

Tesla Takedown was organized by a group of supporters that included disillusioned owners of the automaker’s vehicles, celebrities such as actor John Cusack, and at least one Democratic Party lawmaker, Rep. Jasmine Crockett from Dallas.

“I’m going to keep screaming in the halls of Congress. I just need you all to make sure you all keep screaming in the streets,” Crockett said during an organizing call this month.

Another Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Pramila Jaypal, showed up at a protest in Seattle, which she represents in Congress.

Some people have gone beyond protest, setting Tesla vehicles on fire or committing other acts of vandalism that U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has decried as domestic terrorism. In a March 20 copmany meeting, Musk indicated that he was dumbfounded by the attacks and said the vandals should “stop acting psycho.”

Crockett and other Tesla Takedown supporters have been stressing the importance of Saturday’s protests remaining peaceful.

But police were investigating a fire that destroyed seven Teslas in northwestern Germany in the early morning. It was not immediately clear if the blaze, which was extinguished by firefighters, was related to the protests.

A growing number of consumers who bought Tesla vehicles before Musk took over DOGE have been looking to sell or trade them in, while others have slapped on bumper stickers seeking to distance themselves from him.

But Musk did not appear concerned about an extended slump in new sales in the March meeting, during which he reassured the workers that the company’s Model Y would remain “the best-selling car on Earth again this year.” He also predicted that Tesla will have sold more than 10 million cars worldwide by next year, up from about 7 million currently.

“There are times when there are rocky moments, where there is stormy weather, but what I am here to tell you is that the future is incredibly bright and exciting,” Musk said.

After Trump was elected last November, investors initially saw Musk’s alliance with the president as a positive development for Tesla and its long-running efforts to launch a network of self-driving cars.

That optimism helped lift Tesla’s stock by 70% between the election and Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, creating an additional $560 billion in shareholder wealth. But virtually all those gains have evaporated amid investor worries about the backlash, lagging sales in the U.S., Europe and China, and Musk spending time overseeing DOGE.

“This continues to be a moment of truth for Musk to navigate this brand tornado crisis moment and get onto the other side of this dark chapter for Tesla,” Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives said in a recent research note.

Associated Press writers Terry Chea in Berkeley, California, Mustakim Hasnath in London and Stefanie Dazio in Germany contributed.