Brady Reacts to Federal Court Undermining ATF Ghost Gun Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C., August 18, 2026 — Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention group, released the following statement after the Northern District of Texas struck down, as to the plaintiffs, a 2022 federal rule that ensures that “ghost guns” are regulated as traditional firearms. Ghost guns are unserialized and untraceable firearms that are often used by prohibited persons, such as domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and others who cannot legally possess firearms. 

Brady President Kris Brown said:

Ghost guns are as easy to assemble as a piece of Ikea furniture. Undermining this rule will result in unleashing untraceable and unregulated firearms back into our communities, which will undoubtedly exacerbate violent crime. These firearms are designed to circumvent state and federal law. Today's ruling is detrimental to communities' safety and makes the work of law enforcement exponentially more difficult. Americans do not want this, as Brady-backed efforts drove record public support across the nation for regulating ghost guns. We will never stop fighting to protect Americans from the crisis of gun violence. 

Last year, the Supreme Court voted 7-2 to uphold the federal ghost gun rule against a challenge on a different legal basis in Bondi v. VanDerStok, noting in its ruling that criminals found ghost gun kits attractive and that ghost guns had forced police departments to confront an “explosion of crimes” involving these dangerous weapons.

The life-saving efficacy of the federal ghost gun rule is indisputable. Between 2017 and 2023, the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement agencies nationwide increased by more than 1,500 percent, according to ATF. But the federal regulation has slowed the ghost gun growth rate, with just 258 more ghost guns recovered in 2023 than in 2022. The new rule also spurred a drastic decrease in ghost gun recoveries in major cities across the country — including in Baltimore, where Brady won historic lawsuits against ghost gun manufacturer Polymer80 and a major ghost gun seller.