{"ID":63677,"name":"Bondi v. VanDerStok","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/cases\/2024\/23-852","view_count":0,"docket_number":"23-852","additional_docket_numbers":null,"manner_of_jurisdiction":"Writ of \u003Ci\u003Ecertiorari\u003C\/i\u003E","first_party":"Pamela Bondi, Attorney General, et al.","second_party":"Jennifer VanDerStok, et al.","timeline":[{"event":"Granted","dates":[1713762000],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55452"},{"event":"Argued","dates":[1728363600],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55517"},{"event":"Decided","dates":[1742965200],"href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_timeline\/case_timeline\/55625"}],"lower_court":{"ID":10,"name":"United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/taxonomy\/term\/10"},"facts_of_the_case":"\u003Cp\u003EATF, created in 1972, is responsible for regulating firearms under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). The GCA requires federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to conduct background checks, record firearm transfers, and serialize firearms when selling or transferring them. The GCA\u2019s regulation of firearms is based on the definition of \u201cfirearm,\u201d which includes the \u201cframe or receiver.\u201d However, ATF\u2019s 1978 definition of \u201cframe or receiver\u201d became outdated due to changes in modern firearm design, such as the AR-15 and Glock pistols. Furthermore, the rise of privately made firearms (PMFs) or \u201cghost guns\u201d posed challenges to law enforcement because they were not regulated under the GCA and did not require serialization. In response, ATF issued a Final Rule in 2022, updating the definitions of \u201cframe,\u201d \u201creceiver,\u201d and \u201cfirearm\u201d to better capture modern firearm designs and regulate PMFs. The Final Rule took effect on August 24, 2022.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe respondents in this case challenged the Final Rule\u2019s redefinition of \u201cframe or receiver\u201d and \u201cfirearm,\u201d arguing that it exceeded ATF\u2019s congressionally mandated authority. The district court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs and vacated the Final Rule in its entirety. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed the district court\u2019s determination that the two provisions exceeded ATF\u2019s statutory authority.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","question":"\u003Cp\u003EDid the ATF exceed its statutory authority in promulgating its Final Rule purporting to regulate so-called \u201cghost guns\u201d?\u003C\/p\u003E\n","conclusion":"\u003Cp\u003EThe Gun Control Act of 1968 authorizes the ATF to regulate weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers that can be readily converted into functional firearms. Justice Neil Gorsuch authored the 7-2 majority opinion of the Court.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWeapon parts kits qualify as \u201cweapons\u201d under the statute when they contain all necessary components to build a gun and their intended function is clear. Everyday language permits describing incomplete objects by their intended use, just as a disassembled rifle remains a \u201cweapon.\u201d The statute reinforces this understanding by treating starter guns as firearms even though they require modification. A kit like Polymer80\u2019s \u201cBuy Build Shoot,\u201d which can be assembled in about 20 minutes using common tools, meets the law\u2019s definition because it can be \u201creadily converted\u201d into a functioning firearm, just as a blocked-barrel starter gun qualifies when easily modified for live fire. While not all kits may fall under this definition, the statute clearly covers at least some, making a facial challenge to the rule invalid.\u00a0\u00a0\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe definition of \u201cframe or receiver\u201d also includes partially complete versions that can be finished quickly with standard tools. Ordinary language and the statute\u2019s serialization requirements support this reading, as identification numbers are required on unfinished frames and receivers. Law enforcement has long treated such components as regulated firearms, and even the challengers conceded that some unfinished frames fall within the law\u2019s scope. While some objects may be too incomplete to qualify, the statute reaches at least those requiring only minimal work, making ATF\u2019s rule facially consistent with the law. Concerns about unintended consequences under the National Firearms Act are misplaced, as the government disavowed any authority to classify AR-15 receivers as machine guns, and the doctrines of lenity and constitutional avoidance do not apply where the statute\u2019s meaning is clear.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustices Sonia Sotomayor, Brett Kavanaugh, and Ketanji Brown Jackson each joined the majority opinion and also wrote separate concurring opinions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EJustices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito each authored dissenting opinions.\u003C\/p\u003E\n","advocates":[{"advocate":{"ID":62747,"name":"Elizabeth B. Prelogar","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/people\/elizabeth_b_prelogar","view_count":0,"last_name":"Prelogar","roles":[],"thumbnail":null,"length_of_service":0,"identifier":"elizabeth_b_prelogar"},"advocate_description":"for the Petitioners","href":"https:\/\/api.oyez.org\/case_advocate\/case_advocate\/23605"},{"advocate":{"ID":63716,"name":"Peter A. 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