UPDATE: Brady, Everytown, and March for Our Lives File Second Amicus Brief in Support of ATF and DOJ Ghost Gun Rule

The new ATF federal rule prevents the spread and sale of homemade "ghost guns," which have become popular for gun traffickers and prohibited purchasers seeking firearms for criminal activity.

Washington, D.C., August 15, 2022 - This week, Brady, Everytown for Gun Safety, and March for Our Lives jointly filed an amicus brief in the United States District Court of North Dakota in Morehouse Enterprises, LLC v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), a case challenging the ATF's rule on ghost guns. This new rule will stop the spread and sale of these dangerous, homemade weapons, which have become popular for gun traffickers and prohibited purchasers seeking firearms for criminal activity.

Brady, Everytown, and March for Our Lives filed a similar brief in July in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. You can find that statement here and read the most recent brief here.

About the Department of Justice’s Ghost Gun Rule

The Department of Justice has amended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations to provide new regulatory definitions of “firearm frame or receiver” and “frame or receiver” to include components sold in kits and below specific thresholds that can be quickly and easily converted into a functioning firearm.

The Department likewise amended the ATF's definitions of “firearm” and “gunsmith” to clarify the meaning of those terms, and to provide definitions of terms such as “complete weapon,” “complete muffler or silencer device,” “privately made firearm,” and “readily” for purposes of clarity given advancements in firearms technology. Finally, the Department updated ATF's regulations on marking and recordkeeping so that ATF can properly and effectively implement these changes.

About Ghost Guns

Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often made from "ghost gun kits," that can be bought online, at gun shows, or at gun stores and assembled at home. "Ghost gun kits" include all of the parts and often the equipment necessary to build these weapons at home. These kits are widely available and can be purchased by anyone, including prohibited purchasers such as domestic abusers and gun traffickers, without a background check or any paper trail. From 2016 through 2021, law enforcement agencies reported 45,240 recoveries of ghost guns to ATF, with 19,344 recoveries in 2021 compared to 1,758 recoveries in 2016.

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Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.


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