(Photo by: HUM Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
This Term, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Garland v. VanDerStok. The case is about whether “ghost guns,” that is, weapons that are sold in kits to be assembled by the purchaser, are exempt from federal gun regulations. Of course, once assembled, ghost guns are as deadly as ready-to-shoot guns, and gun activists are really trying to hammer that point home for the justices on the Supreme Court.
In a surprisingly effective publicity stunt, Gifford Law Center sent a query to the Supreme Court Police to get their take on the matter. As reported by Huffington Post:
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“I noticed on the link that guns are prohibited on tours (makes sense),” [Chris Harris] the vice president of communications for Giffords Law Center, a major gun law reform group, wrote in an email to Supreme Court Police. “Quick question ― Does that prohibition on firearms apply to unfinished frames similar to the one linked below even though it is incapable of firing in its current state?” He then included a link to an incomplete Glock-style pistol frame that might be used to assemble a ghost gun.
“Correct, you cannot bring ANY weapon of ANY kind into the Supreme Court building or grounds,” the security team responded in a message shared with HuffPost.
The point for Harris is pretty obvious, “These emails reveal that the Supreme Court itself considers ghost guns to be guns — because they are. Justices must apply that same common sense to the law and allow the [Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)] to do the job it was created to do.”
The justices will hear arguments in the case tomorrow, October 8, 2024.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of The Jabot podcast, and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter @Kathryn1 or Mastodon @[email protected].