Supreme Court Temporarily Reinstates Biden ‘Ghost Gun’ Rule

The Supreme Court allowed the Biden administration to continue enforcing a regulation on “ghost guns” while an appeals court considers its legality. 

For Context: “Ghost guns” are firearms without a serial number, often assembled from a kit and purchased without background checks. The untraceable weapons have increasingly been discovered at crime scenes, with more than 19,000 seized in 2021 alone.

The Details: The court’s ruling was 5-4, with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Amy Coney Barrett joining the court’s three liberal justices in the majority. The rule in question expands the legal definition of a firearm to include unfinished parts, thus requiring licensing, serial numbers, and background checks for the sale of individual parts. A Texas judge struck down the rule in June, and the Biden administration appealed the decision in Louisiana. 

How the Media Covered It: Mainstream news coverage was common and generally similar across the spectrum; however, some outlets with clearer ideological leanings framed the issue differently. While the right usually disagrees with the left’s support for gun control, ghost guns complicate the dynamic; three days before the Supreme Court ruling, a New York Post (Lean Right bias) discussed how “ghost guns and fentanyl are killing America.”