"Ghost guns" seized in federal law enforcement actions are displayed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) field office in Glendale, California on April 18, 2022.
A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the Biden administration lacked authority to adopt a regulation aimed at reining in privately made firearms called "ghost guns" that are difficult for law enforcement to trace.
Circuit Court of Appeals sided with a group of firearm owners, gun rights groups and manufacturers in declaring the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' 2022 rule "unlawful."
The administration has said that ghost guns are attractive to criminals and others prohibited from lawfully buying firearms, including minors.
There were about 20,000 suspected ghost guns reported in 2021 to the ATF as having been recovered by law enforcement in criminal investigations — a tenfold increase from 2016, according to the White House.
Persons:
Biden, Donald Trump, Kurt Engelhardt, Cody Wisniewski
Organizations:
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, Circuit, Republican, Gun Control, U.S . Department of Justice, U.S, Coalition Action Foundation, ATF, Biden
Locations:
Glendale , California, New Orleans, Texas, U.S .