Episode 104
Opinion Summary: Bondi, Att'y Gen. v. VanDerStok | Date Decided: 3/26/25 | Case No. 23-852
The questions presented in this case are: 1. Whether "a weapon parts kit that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive," 27 C.F.R. 478.11, is a "firearm" regulated by the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA); and 2. Whether "a partially complete, disassembled, or nonfunctional frame or receiver" that is "designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver," 27 C.F.R. 478.12(c), is a "frame or receiver" regulated by the GCA.
The Supreme Court held: The ATF’s rule is not facially inconsistent with the GCA. The GCA’s statute’s text, context, and structure make clear the GCA reaches some weapon parts kits and unfinished frames or receivers.
Transcript
Van der Stock case 23 852.
Speaker A:The questions presented in this case 1.
Speaker A: ted by the Gun control Act of: Speaker A:Whether a partially complete, disassembled or non functional frame or receiver that is designed to or may readily be completed, assembled, restored or otherwise converted to function as a frame or receiver is a frame or receiver regulated by the Act.
Speaker A:Justice Gorsuch delivered the opinion of the Court in which Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, Kavanaugh, Barrett and Jackson joined.
Speaker A:Justices Sotomayor, Kavanaugh and Jackson each filed concurring opinions.
Speaker A:Justices Thomas and Alito each filed dissenting opinions.
Speaker A:Please note that this summary is read by an automated voice.
Speaker B: pinion the Gun control Act of: Speaker B:The act defines firearm to include a Any weapon which will or is designed to, or may readily be converted to expel a projectile or by the action of an explosive and b The frame or receiver of any such weapon.
Speaker B:18 United States Code section 921A.
Speaker B:Three recent years have witnessed profound changes in how guns are made and sold, with companies now able to sell weapon parts kits that individuals can assemble into functional firearms at home.
Speaker B:These kits vary widely in how complete they come and in how much work is required to finish them.
Speaker B: in: Speaker B: In: Speaker B:Section 478.12.
Speaker B:Before ATF could enforce its rule, gun manufacturers and others filed what they described as a facial challenge under the Administrative Procedure act, arguing that the GCA cannot be read to reach weapon parts kits or unfinished frames or receivers.
Speaker B:The district court agreed and vacated the rule.
Speaker B:The Fifth Circuit affirmed, holding that Section 921.3A categorically does not reach weapon parts kits regardless of completeness or ease of assembly, and that section 921A.3B reaches only finished frames and receivers held.
Speaker B:The ATF's rule is not facially inconsistent with the GCA.
Speaker B:Pages 7 to 24A.
Speaker B:Section 478.11's provisions addressing weapon parts kits are not facially Invalid under section 9.21a.3a.
Speaker B:That subsection contains two requirements.
Speaker B:A weapon must be present and that weapon must be able to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive designed to do so or susceptible of ready conversion to operate that way.
Speaker B:Some weapon parts kits meet that description.
Speaker B:Consider, for instance, polymer 80's by build shoot kit, which contains all necessary components to build a semi automatic pistol and can be assembled in about 20 minutes using common tools.
Speaker B:That kit qualifies as a weapon because one artifact nouns like weapon often describe unfinished objects when their intended function is clear, as with a disassembled rifle two the statute treats starter guns as weapons, though they require conversion work and 3 the statutory text contemplates that some things short of fully operable firearms qualify as weapons.
Speaker B:The kit also satisfies the statute's second requirement as it requires no more time, expertise, or specialized tools to complete than a starter gun, which the statute treats as readily convertible into a functioning firearm, while other kits may be so incomplete or cumbersome to assemble that they cannot fairly be described as weapons capable of ready conversion.
Speaker B:The facial challenge fails because kits like polymer 80s clearly qualify.
Speaker B:Pages 7 17b section 478.12's treatment of partially complete frames and receivers is also not facially invalid under section 921.
Speaker B:Like weapon, the artifact nouns frame and receiver may describe not yet complete objects.
Speaker B:The statute uses these terms to encompass some unfinished items Elsewhere as in section 923 serialization requirements for incomplete weapons, silencers, and destructive devices.
Speaker B:ATF has for decades interpreted the statute to reach some unfinished frames and receivers, and even the plaintiffs concede they have no quarrel with ATF's prior practice of regulating those products.
Speaker B:Accordingly, the statute authorizes ATF to regulate at least some incomplete frames or receivers that take minutes of work with common tools to complete, while other products may be so far from finished that they cannot fairly be described as frames or receivers.
Speaker B:The facial challenge fails because the statute plainly reaches some partially complete items.
Speaker B:Pages 17 21c.
Speaker B:The plaintiff's arguments about the linguistic differences between subsections A and B and potential unintended consequences under the National Firearms act are unpersuasive.
Speaker B:The government represents that AR15 receivers do not qualify as machine gun receivers, and this Court's analysis of the GCA does not suggest ATF has authority to regulate them as such under the NFA.
Speaker B:Pages 21 to 24 neither the rule of lenity nor constitutional avoidance applies where, as here, the statute's text, context, and structure make clear it reaches some weapon parts, kits, and unfinished frames or receivers.
Speaker B: Page: Speaker B:4179, reversed and remanded Justices Sotomayor concurring.
Speaker C:Opinion I'll restructure the summaries to match the format of a Supreme Court syllabus.
Speaker C:I join the Court's opinion in full.
Speaker C:I write separately to address two points raised in the writings that follow.
Speaker C:The first concern that ATF's rule might create uncertainty for regulated entities, lacks merit.
Speaker C:For over 50 years, firearms dealers, manufacturers, and importers have successfully complied with the Gun Control Act's requirements, including marking products with serial numbers, maintaining sales records, and conducting background checks.
Speaker C:The industry understands these obligations, and ATF maintains a classification process for manufacturers seeking clarity about specific products.
Speaker C:Second, I write to emphasize that the suggestion that the act permits ATF to to regulate only all but assembled weapon parts, kits, and frames as close to completion as possible mischaracterizes the majority opinion.
Speaker C:The Court's actual holdings appear at specific pages 7, 11 to 12, 18, 20 to 22, and 24, and these binding determinations, not the dissent's characterizations, should guide lower courts.
Speaker D: rea requirements under ATF's: Speaker D:I note that the Gun Control Act's willfulness requirement protects good faith actors by requiring the government to prove knowledge of unlawful conduct for licensing, record keeping, and serialization violations.
Speaker D:As to background check violations, by contrast, the statute penalizes Violations committed knowingly PR 9.22T.924A.
Speaker D:5.
Speaker D:The knowingly mens rea requires proof of knowledge of the facts that constitute the offense.
Speaker D:Unlike the willfully mens rea, it generally does not require knowledge that the conduct was unlawful.
Speaker D:That lesser knowingly mens rea requirement could therefore create concerns about fair notice, at least in certain cases.
Speaker D:That said, at oral argument, the government represented that it would likely decline to charge someone for a background check violation in the kind of situation where the individual was not aware that he was violating the law.
Speaker D:As the government seemed to recognize, if the government were to charge a background check violation against an individual who was unaware that he was violating the law, that defendant might have a due process argument based on lack of fair notice.
Speaker D:I expect that the government will seek to avoid that potential fair notice problem by adhering to its oral argument representation that it would likely decline to bring charges in those circumstances.
Speaker E:Justice Jackson, Concurring Opinion.
Speaker E:I find this case straightforward given its narrow scope.
Speaker E:I note that no party disputes Congress's delegation of rulemaking authority or ATF's reliance on that authority.
Speaker E:I emphasize that proper excess of authority review must examine actual statutory boundaries, not whether judges would have made different discretionary choices.
Speaker E:I join the majority opinion because it aligns with my view that when statutory boundaries do not foreclose agency action, the excess of authority claim must fail.
Speaker F:Justice Thomas, Dissenting Opinion I reject the majority's rewriting of statutory text to permit ATF's regulation of weapon parts kits.
Speaker F:I find the statutory terms frame and receiver exclude unfinished components in weapon parts kits, and I conclude these kits fall outside the statutory definition of firearm.
Speaker F:I base my analysis on text, context, and structure.
Speaker F:I criticize the majority for substituting artifact nouns terminology for traditional statutory interpretation, treating casual usage as determinative of statutory meaning, improperly importing attributes between statutory provisions, and creating unintended consequences that could lead to regulating AR15s as machine guns.
Speaker F:I would apply the rule of lenity to resolve any statutory ambiguity in favor of regulated parties.
Speaker G:Justice Alito, Dissenting Opinion.
Speaker G:I object to the Court's application of Salerno's facial challenge framework to this Administrative Procedure act challenge because the parties neither raised this approach below nor adequately briefed it.
Speaker G:I warned that applying Salerno's demanding test to regulatory challenges would effectively preclude almost any challenge to agency rules, as agencies rarely draft regulations with no valid applications.
Speaker G:I caution that this approach could significantly expand administrative state power and end debate about courts authority to invalidate rules entirely under the apa.
Speaker G:I would have either requested additional briefing on Salerno's applicability to regulatory challenges or remanded for lower courts to address this issue.
Speaker B:First.
Speaker A:Majority's Response to Dissents we ground our interpretation in traditional statutory analysis rather than mere linguistic labels.
Speaker A:While we discuss artifact nouns, we use this analysis to reinforce Congress's contextual usage supported by the statute's text, structure, and history.
Speaker A:We reject concerns about unintended consequences regarding AR15s based on the government's explicit representations.
Speaker A:We emphasize that our narrow holding leaves many specific applications for future cases while confirming ATF's basic regulatory authority under the statute.
Speaker A:Case Implications this decision may have immediate and significant impacts on the firearms industry and regulation of ghost guns.
Speaker A:First, ATF can now regulate weapon parts kits that are nearly complete and easily assembled, requiring manufacturers and sellers of these kits to obtain federal licenses, conduct background checks, maintain records, and mark their products with serial numbers.
Speaker A:However, the Court's narrow holding leaves open questions about exactly which kits and unfinished components ATF can regulate, specifically those falling between easily assembled full kits and basic parts or raw materials.
Speaker A:This uncertainty may lead to additional litigation as ATF attempts to define these boundaries through enforcement actions.
Speaker A:Second, the rulings mens rea discussion.
Speaker A:Particularly Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence about the willfulness requirement suggests ATF may face challenges prosecuting violations absent clear evidence that defendants knew their conduct was unlawful.
Speaker A:The decision also appears to foreclose arguments that AR15s could be regulated as machine guns under this framework, given the Court's explicit acceptance of the government's position that AR15 receivers do not qualify as machine gun receivers.
Speaker A:Practically, this means the ghost gun industry will likely adapt by selling less complete kits or marketing components separately to avoid regulation, while ATF will need to carefully calibrate its enforcement approach to align with the Court's guidance about what constitutes a readily convertible weapon or frame receiver.
