The following statement is attributable to:
Bruce A. Scott, M.D.
President, American Medical Association
“We applaud the Supreme Court’s decision recognizing the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in the regulation of ghost guns, which will help keep untraceable weapons out of the hands of dangerous criminals.
“Ghost guns—unregistered firearms that are readily found online and that can be easily assembled from inexpensive kits—are distributed without serial numbers in unrecorded transactions and without the background checks required to legally obtain a firearm, making them the weapon of choice for criminals. The ATF’s rule requires ghost gun manufacturers of covered firearm parts kits, frames and receivers to adhere to the same requirements as commercial gun makers, including obtaining federal firearm licenses, marking their products with serial numbers, conducting background checks and keeping transfer records.
“Firearm violence has been considered a health care crisis since 1968, and in 2022, 48,204 mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, babies, friends and other loved ones died of firearm violence. Subjecting homemade firearms to the same laws and regulations as traditional firearms is an example of the common sense solutions supported by physicians to reduce firearm deaths and help put an end to this public health crisis.
“An AMA-led brief in Bondi v. VanDerStok (PDF) urged the Supreme Court to uphold the ATF rule as consistent with the Gun Control Act. Joining the AMA in the brief were the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Emergency Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Preventive Medicine, American Geriatrics Society and Texas Medical Association.
“The AMA supports continued 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.”
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Editor’s Note: The AMA declared firearm-related violence—one of the leading causes of intentional and unintentional injuries and deaths in the U.S.—a public health crisis in 2016. For additional AMA perspective on unregistered firearms, please see the recent viewpoint by AMA President, Bruce A. Scott, M.D. Last February, the AMA collaborated with the Ad Council to launch the youth gun violence prevention campaign Agree to Agree.
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The American Medical Association is the physicians’ powerful ally in patient care. As the only medical association that convenes 190+ state and specialty medical societies and other critical stakeholders, the AMA represents physicians with a unified voice to all key players in health care. The AMA leverages its strength by removing the obstacles that interfere with patient care, leading the charge to prevent chronic disease and confront public health crises and, driving the future of medicine to tackle the biggest challenges in health care.
