The justice has jurisdiction over the Fifth Circuit court, which made the ruling on July 24. The three-judge panel refused the request for an emergency stay, but Alito allowed it. He asked for the challengers to respond by Aug. 2 and suggested a ruling from the full Supreme Court by Aug. 4.
At issue is yet another attempt by the federal agency to impose new regulations on firearms.
These “ghost guns” are assembled by hobbyists from kits readily available online. As they are merely parts, they do not have serial numbers and background checks are not required.
Anti-gun forces claim they are marketed to those who are not legally eligible to purchase or possess a weapon.
Never mind that the Fifth Circuit toed the line with last year’s high court Bruen decision. The ATF continues to try to ram through rules to chip away at Second Amendment rights.
The government’s appeal to the Supreme Court for an emergency stay is predicated on the idea that regulating these firearms is related to public safety. Time and again this has been shown to not be the case, but “safety” is the standard guise under which governments attempt to strip away individual liberties.
The law is loosely based on the controversial Gun Control Act of 1968. The current statute bans the production of firearms by persons who will not include their products in the federal database.
These guns have been manufactured since colonial times and the modern tools used in their production have been around for many decades. The next several days will be fascinating to watch as justices likely grapple with yet another federal firearms overreach.
