Press Releases
07/03/2024
Attorney General Tong Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Federal Ghost Gun Regulations
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong joined a group of 24 attorneys general filing an amicus brief in Garland v. VanDerStok, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold federal ghost gun regulations.“Ghost guns are guns. They exist for one reason—to evade background checks and law enforcement. The ATF rule is fully lawful and necessary to protect public safety. But we need to be clear-eyed about the severity of this threat, and the serious setbacks to gun safety already inflicted by this court. Connecticut’s commonsense gun laws, while they are no replacement for strong federal action, are more vital than ever,” said Attorney General Tong.
Similar to the recent challenge to the federal bump stock ban, this is not a Second Amendment case but rather a question of statutory definitions. Ghost guns are illegal under state law in Connecticut, and this challenge should not impact the enforcement of Connecticut’s law.
This case challenges a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) rule, which clarifies that the definition of “firearms” in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) includes kits and parts that can be converted into fully-functional firearms. This common-sense clarification does not ban gun kits. Rather, it subjects kits and nearly-complete guns to the same rules as conventionally manufactured guns—including serial number and background check requirements.
The rule was challenged, and the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit struck it down as an impermissible expansion of the GCA—though the court allowed it to remain in effect while an appeal proceeds. The appeal will be heard by the Supreme Court during its next term.
Attorney General Tong and the coalition urge the Supreme Court to uphold the ATF’s ghost gun rule, arguing that striking it down would harm public safety and hinder law enforcement. The attorneys general describe how the rule is consistent with the text, history, and purpose of the GCA and demonstrate that the Fifth Circuit’s decision was erroneous. They argue that the rule is necessary to close a dangerous loophole and stop people who are banned from owning guns from making an end run around existing law—which they were able to do before gun kits were subject to the same regulations as other firearms. Additionally, the coalition shares early evidence that the rule is already improving public safety: multiple jurisdictions have seen a drop in ghost gun recoveries since the rule went into effect in 2023.
A copy of the brief is available here.
The brief was co-led by the attorneys general of the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and was joined by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
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