By Wyatt Lutenbacher

Gaps in federal regulation have allowed “privately made firearms,” or “ghost guns,” to proliferate. Until August 2022, “firearm kits,” which allowed for easy assembly of functional firearms without serial numbers, could be purchased without a background check. Federal law and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) have historically regulated assembled weapons rather than firearm components, and as a result, firearm kits have circumvented traditional firearm regulations. As a result, state and federal regulations have now had to try to adapt accordingly. Yet in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, the United States Supreme Court unsettled many firearm regulations by creating a new test for the Second Amendment that focuses on history and tradition.

This Note posits that ghost guns are a problem not seriously addressed by federal regulations. To address these regulatory gaps, this Note will analyze proposed and potential administrative and legislative solutions, then defend them under the Bruen test. First, this Note will begin by describing the ghost gun epidemic and the relevant Second Amendment law, specifically the Bruen test. Next, it will present and analyze both current and proposed federal regulations and legislation targeting ghost guns. Finally, this Note will conclude by arguing that these current and proposed solutions are constitutional under Bruen.

42 Minn J. L. & Inequality 253 (2025)

By Joseph Blocher, Jacob D. Charles, and Darrell A.H. Miller

  Academic work is increasingly important to court rulings on the Second Amendment and firearms law more generally. This article highlights two recent trends in social science research that supplement the traditional focus on guns and physical harm. The first strand of research focuses on the changing ways that gun owners connect with firearms, with personal security, status, identity, and cultural markers being key reasons people offer for possessing firearms. The second strand focuses on broadening our understanding of the impact of guns on the public sphere beyond just physical safety. This research surfaces the ways that guns can create fear, intimidation, and social trauma; deter civic participation and the exercise of constitutional rights; and further entrench racial inequality.  

Annu. Rev. Law Soc. Sci. 2023. 19:165–77