When is a paperweight a firearm? When the U.S. Supreme Court overrules sensible lower court decisions so the federal government can regulate inert objects as if they were capable of firing bullets. That's the result of the high court's 7–2 ruling last week in Bondi v. Vanderstok permitting the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to enforce its "ghost gun" rule reinterpreting the law so it can treat at least some unfinished gun parts kits as functioning firearms. The case avoided the Second Amendment and dealt only with the permissible extent of administrative legal interpretations.
Scary 'Ghost Guns' and the Limits of the Law
At stake are so-called ghost guns, a term encompassing firearms made by hobbyists and lacking serial numbers. Specifically, "ghost gun" most often refers to firearms made from unfinished parts or kits that require work with tools such as drills and milling machines—less work in some cases than in others—in order to produce a functioning gun. Making DIY guns has become a popular hobby in recent years, and that upsets the usual ranks of control freaks.
