{"id":213070,"date":"2024-10-15T17:32:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesnewswire.com\/?p=60485"},"modified":"2024-10-15T17:32:02","modified_gmt":"2024-10-15T17:32:02","slug":"supreme-court-appears-poised-to-make-a-left-turn-against-gun-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2024\/10\/15\/supreme-court-appears-poised-to-make-a-left-turn-against-gun-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Appears Poised to Make a Left Turn Against Gun Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"gun\"<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court last Tuesday ruled it will likely uphold a Biden Administration restriction against certain firearm manufacturing kits, signaling a potential shift in its usually pro-gun thinking. The kits, which include unfinished firearm receivers, unofficially called <\/span>80% lowers<\/span><\/a>, and other parts, like a barrel and trigger, necessary to assemble a working rifle or handgun, have long been federally legal and easily purchased online. The ATF in 2022 amended the definition of a firearm to broadly include the kits.<\/span><\/p>\n

On October 8, the court heard oral arguments from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and plaintiff gun dealers in <\/span>Garland v. VanDerStok, <\/span><\/i>a now yearslong case that fundamentally challenges what, exactly, defines a firearm. That the court has signaled deference to the ATF is surprising, especially considering just months ago it ruled against agency decision-making powers in June, in <\/span>Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In that case, the court \u201climited the executive branch\u2019s authority to expand laws through administrative regulations.\u201d Greg Germain, a professor of law at New York\u2019s Syracuse University, opined that the court\u2019s decision to rule in the ATF\u2019s favor signals it believes the new regulations created by the agency in response to the firearm kits simply follow Congress\u2019 existent definition of a firearm, rather than materially expanding upon it.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite ruling in favor of the ATF, the court appears split along lines similar to its 5-4 ruling last year, when it refused to block the new regulations while the case continued. Justices John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett joined the court\u2019s three liberal justices in the majority opinion. Conservative Justice Samuel Alito appears receptive to the plaintiffs\u2019 arguments that firearm component kits containing unfinished receivers do not necessarily constitute a firearm under the current definition found in federal law.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alito seemingly held up a blank sheet of paper and a pen and questioned, \u201cIs this a grocery list.\u201d Alito asked Elizabeth Prelogar, who is representing the government, whether raw ingredients for a breakfast meal would constitute an omelet. Justice Barrett countered the point, questioning whether it was an accurate comparison to the ATF\u2019s new rule and wondering whether such raw ingredients don\u2019t constitute a meal kit that could be readily cooked with little effort.<\/span><\/p>\n

Prelogar complemented Barrett\u2019s, claiming it was an \u201capt analogy\u201d and that the government is \u201cnot suggesting the scattered components that might have some entirely separate and distinct function could be aggregated and called a weapon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The Gun Control Act, ratified by Congress in 1972, states that firearm regulations apply to \u201cany weapon which will or is designed to or may be readily converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive.\u201d The language of the law specifically cites the core of any firearm, the \u201cframe or receiver of any such weapon,\u201d as the key component that makes a firearm \u2013 even if such a component and its other requisite pieces aren\u2019t necessarily assembled or functional in their current state.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The case reached the Supreme Court after both a U.S. District Court in Texas and the 5<\/span>th<\/span> U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the regulation\u2019s challengers. Jennifer VanDerStok and Michael Andren, who operate firearm companies, joined various gun rights groups and unfinished firearm receiver manufacturers in challenging the ATF\u2019s authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

In their brief, the plaintiffs argued the law doesn\u2019t apply to firearm kits. The groups\u2019 lawyers argued the ATF\u2019s new rulemaking \u201csignificantly expands upon the language in the law\u201d rather than merely interpreting existing law, echoing the sentiments raised in challenging agency authority in <\/span>Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Although the Court\u2019s final ruling is yet to be written, a decision favorable to the ATF won\u2019t necessarily restrict the online sale of firearm parts, which has become a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. Firearm kits that don\u2019t contain any unfinished firearm frame or receiver will still be federally legal, despite some state further restricting such kits.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Gun kits that contain all other components except for the frame or receiver are frequently used to upgrade factory firearms. Individual firearm components and accessories, like stocks, barrels, triggers, and grips will also remain legal \u2013 those components are specifically excluded from the Gun Control Act\u2019s regulations, which carves out exceptions for non-firearm components that cannot alone be converted into a working firearm.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Supreme Court last Tuesday ruled it will likely uphold a Biden Administration restriction against certain firearm manufacturing kits, signaling a potential shift in its usually pro-gun thinking. The kits, which include unfinished firearm receivers, unofficially called 80% lowers, and other parts, like a barrel and trigger, necessary to assemble a working rifle or handgun,… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":344,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[374],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-213070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ipsnews"],"yoast_head":"\nSupreme Court Appears Poised to Make a Left Turn Against Gun Rights - Business<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ipsnews.net\/business\/2024\/10\/15\/supreme-court-appears-poised-to-make-a-left-turn-against-gun-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Supreme Court Appears Poised to Make a Left Turn Against Gun Rights - Business\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Supreme Court last Tuesday ruled it will likely uphold a Biden Administration restriction against certain firearm manufacturing kits, signaling a potential shift in its usually pro-gun thinking. 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