Brady Celebrates Supreme Court Decision to Uphold Ghost Gun Regulation In Bondi vs. VanDerStok; Decision Arrives as Trump Threatens to Roll Back Gun Safety Policies

The Supreme Court ruling leaves in place President Biden’s life-saving rule requiring ghost gun kits and parts be regulated as traditional firearms 

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 26, 2025 — Today, Brady, the nation’s oldest gun violence prevention organization, celebrated the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision to uphold President Biden’s 2022 executive action to regulate untraceable “ghost guns.” Brady filed an amicus brief in the case and has long advocated for this common-sense regulation. 

The ruling will ensure that ghost guns – unserialized and untraceable firearms often used by prohibited persons such as domestic abusers, gun traffickers, and others who cannot legally possess firearms – will continue to be regulated as traditional firearms. The Supreme Court noted in its ruling that criminals had found ghost gun kits attractive, and that ghost guns had forced police departments to confront an “explosion of crimes” involving these highly dangerous weapons.

The life-saving efficacy of the federal ghost gun rule has been indisputable. Between 2016 and 2021, the number of ghost guns recovered by law enforcement agencies nationwide increased by more than 1,000 percent. But federal regulation spurred a drastic decrease in ghost gun recoveries, with cities and states reporting significantly fewer ghost guns used in crimes and recovered by law enforcement.

Brady President Kris Brown, said:

“Today represents a massive win in the fight for public safety and common sense. Ghost guns are as easy to assemble as a piece of Ikea furniture and, before Biden’s rule, could be accessed with fewer regulations than it takes to rent a car or book a flight. Striking down this rule would have meant unleashing untraceable murder weapons back into our communities, undoubtedly spiking violent crime.  

It’s simple: If you can’t pass a Brady Background Check, you shouldn’t be able to build a gun in your basement. Today’s Supreme Court decision will ensure law enforcement can continue its progress in cracking down on these dangerous weapons. And that’s what it really means to be ‘tough on crime’ —  a mandate that the Trump administration purportedly takes up while simultaneously moving to ‘dismantle’ our nation’s gun policies proven to reduce crime and violence.   

In fact, this decision effectively takes the regulation of ghost guns off of the Trump administration’s chopping block as Attorney General Bondi continues her review of so-called “infringements” of American’s Second Amendment rights. 

Brady is proud to have played a role in this case, including helping drive record public support for this measure. We will never stop fighting to protect Americans from the crisis of gun violence.”