Everytown Law Denounces Federal District Court Ruling Narrowly Blocking Enforcement of ATF Ghost Gun Rule As Applied to Two Defense Distributed Products, Calls on DOJ to Appeal

NEW YORK – In response to a ruling on Monday by U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor wrongly exempting two products sold by Defense Distributed from federal ATF ghost gun regulations, Everytown Law issued the following statement:

“There is no Second Amendment right to buy or sell an untraceable ghost gun kit without a background check. This decision is egregiously wrong, and we expect the Justice Department to promptly appeal,” said Eric Tirschwell, Executive Director of Everytown Law. “The Supreme Court has already made clear in VanDerStok that the Gun Control Act applies to the vast majority of ghost gun kits that had been on the market, and requires background checks and serial numbers. No outlier decision from an extreme lower court judge can change that.”

The reckless ruling comes despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year in Bondi v. VanDerStok, which upheld the authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) under the Gun Control Act to regulate untraceable weapon parts kits and unfinished frames and receivers. 

Judge O’Connor’s ruling is narrower than VanDerStok. The decision blocks federal authorities from enforcing critical safety regulations against Defense Distributed and members of the Second Amendment Foundation seeking to sell these specific untraceable products. Today’s ruling does not apply to or authorize the sale of any other ghost gun kits.

###