The U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments this week in Garland v. VanDerStok to determine if the federal government can lawfully regulate firearms assembled from kits, commonly known as “ghost guns.”
The AMA joined the Texas Medical Association, the American Academy of Family Physicians and other physician and health care groups in filing an amicus brief (PDF) this summer supporting the government’s position in this case, and seeking to keep unregulated and untraceable firearms out of the hands of those legally prohibited from owning them due to criminal history or other factors.
Ghost guns have rapidly become the weapon of choice for criminals, minors and others legally barred from owning firearms. Why? Because these weapons—easily assembled from inexpensive kits and components that are widely available online—are untraceable by law enforcement. That’s because they are distributed without serial numbers through unrecorded transactions that do not require background checks.
The core issue in Garland v. VanDerStok involves a final rule adopted in 2022 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that broadened its interpretation of the term “firearm” under the Gun Control Act of 1968. The final rule does not ban the sale of ghost gun kits or components like frames or receivers that can be assembled into a firearm.
Rather, it only places the same requirements on kit and component manufacturers that currently apply to manufacturers and dealers of fully assembled firearms: obtain a federal firearms license, inscribe a serial number, conduct a presale background check and maintain certain records.
The ATF final rule requirements apply only to commercial manufacturers and dealers of ghost gun kits and firearm components. In no way does ATF’s final rule infringe on Second Amendment rights, or prevent or limit law-abiding citizens from making or possessing firearms for lawful personal use.
Ghost guns and crime
The use of untraceable firearms assembled from kits or components by criminals around the nation has increased exponentially over the past decade, to the point where somewhere between one-fourth and one-half of firearms recovered at crime scenes in California were ghost guns, typically in the hands of someone legally barred from owning a firearm.
Ghost guns have also been used in mass shootings, including the Club Q tragedy in Colorado in 2022. The number of ghost guns recovered by federal law enforcement agents soared from 1,758 in 2016 to 25,785 in 2022, while local and state police reported similar surges. Since the ATF regulation went into effect, several jurisdictions have reported that the number of ghost guns recovered at crime scenes has flattened or declined.
Reducing firearm injuries and deaths
Our medical community has firsthand experience of the tremendous destruction firearms inflict on people of all ages in our communities: the horrific wounds, the grieving families, the lifelong trauma that shooting survivors face. The AMA has pushed for commonsense laws to reduce firearm deaths for decades, including subjecting homemade firearms to the same laws and regulations as traditional firearms, and officially declared firearm violence a public health crisis eight years ago. The AMA applauded the surgeon general for making a similar declaration in June.
Along with our partners in the Federation of Medicine, we recognize the immense threat firearm violence continues to pose.
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In 2022, the AMA House of Delegates adopted new policy to establish a task force focused on firearm injury prevention. This task force continues to convene physician leaders from several national medical associations to increase collaboration to prevent firearm injuries and deaths. And the task force hosted an educational session, “Health Care Strategies for Firearm Injury Prevention,” at the 2024 AMA Annual Meeting.
We also continue to work at the state level to encourage and assist states in implementing some of the provisions of the federal law passed last year, especially regarding passage of extreme-risk protection order legislation. These laws, which have been enacted in 21 states and the District of Columbia, allow for civil court orders that temporarily prohibit firearm purchases or possession by individuals at high risk of harming themselves or others.
Also, the AMA has created a CME module to help physicians more effectively identify and counsel patients at high-risk of firearm injury and death. Case studies focus on patients at risk of suicide and domestic violence, as well as secure firearm storage to prevent child access. The module is available for free on the AMA Ed Hub™.
We continue to work with the American Academy of Pediatrics and others to ensure that Congress appropriates increased funding for research on preventing firearm violence. And we constantly reaffirm our support for banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, instituting expanded background checks for handgun purchases and waiting periods for firearms, and tighter enforcement of state and federal firearm safety laws.
The pressing need to keep us all safe from the senseless firearm violence that plagues our nation drives AMA advocacy on this issue. Applying the same regulations to gun kit manufacturers that have applied for decades to makers and dealers of traditional firearms is a prime example of the commonsense measures the majority of Americans already support.
The AMA will continue to lead efforts to prevent firearm injuries and deaths and remove the ever-increasing threat of firearm violence that confronts our patients, our communities and our country.
