California Attorney General Rob Bonta is rallying the troops in the latest legal skirmish over the ghost gun debate, as reported by the California Office of the Attorney General. Bonta has sided with a group of 20 attorneys general, pushing for the Supreme Court's scrutiny of a Fifth Circuit Court ruling that countered a U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regulation on these untraceable firearms. The controversial ATF "Final Rule," which classifies parts kits and partially complete frames as regulated "firearms," has faced opposition, aiming to duck federal mandates that include background checks and serialization.
In a bold statement, Bonta underlined the gravity of the issue, arguing that "These requirements are crucial in keeping ghost guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals and critical to preventing and solving violent, firearm-related crimes." The plague of unserialized and untraceable weapons has been exacerbated by weak gun controls in various states, allowing gun components to sneak into stricter regions like California. The lawsuit, seeking to undo ATF's rule, was filed by pro-gun groups and individual owners of firearms, aiming to keep these ghost guns beyond the law's reach.
As part of his ongoing defense, Attorney General Bonta has previously joined forces in briefs across several district courts in North Dakota, Southern Texas, and Northern Texas. The management of ghost guns by applying established Gun Control Act definitions, such as those for weapon parts kits and partially complete frames, has been regarded crucial in extending background check and serialization standards to the same level as traditionally manufactured firearms. Now, with the recent coalition's brief at the Supreme Court, it's a clear message: the battle for ghost gun regulation is ramping up, and state-by-state inconsistencies in enforcement present dangerous pitfalls.
Representing ATF's stance, the rule articulates that if weapon parts kits and frames can quickly become functional firearms, or are sold with the necessary components to assemble one, they indeed fall under the "firearm" category by the Act. Attorney General Bonta emphasized the life-or-death stakes involved, saying "It is a heartbreaking reality that children and teenagers in our country are more likely to lose their lives due to guns than any illness or accident." He argues these measures by the ATF are indispensable to safeguard Californians, intimating the wider American population by extension.
