Supreme Court Blocks Texas District Judge’s Order Allowing “Ghost Gun” Manufacturing, Again
By Logan Smedley
On Monday, October 16th, the Supreme Court barred Texas-based manufacturers Blackhawk Manufacturing and Defense Distributed from selling products meant to be quickly converted into homemade firearms known as “ghost guns.”[1] The order overruled U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor’s preliminary injunction exempting the manufacturers from a federal rule requiring ghost gun distributors to obtain licenses, perform background checks for transactions, mark their products with serial numbers, and maintain transaction records.[2]
The rule, promulgated in August 2022 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) was initially challenged by Blackhawk Manufacturing, Defense Distributed, various private gun owners, and two gun rights groups.[3] Defense Distributed describes itself as “the first private defense contractor in service of the general public” and claims to have contracts with various companies offering firearm software, kits, parts, and tools to “help you start and finish your DIY/3D-printed firearm.”[4] Blackhawk Manufacturing produces “consumer goods, sports and recreation equipment, automotive components, and gunsmithing tools.”[5] Plaintiffs requested injunctive relief, seeking “full constitutional protections” to protect their second amendment rights.[6]
Texas District Judge O’Connor then granted a nationwide injunction barring the rule from going into effect, finding that the ATF had exceeded its authority under the Gun Control Act.[7] That decision was subsequently overruled by the Supreme Court and the regulation was reinstated while the appeal proceeded.[8] The day after the Supreme Court decision was handed down, plaintiffs filed a motion for a injunctive relief, claiming that the companies would be irreparably harmed if forced to comply while the litigation continued.[9] Judge O’Connor then issued a preliminary injunction in September freeing the companies from the new rule’s requirements while the litigation proceeded.[10] The Biden administration appealed the injunction, arguing that such an injunction poses a risk to public safety by allowing purchase of ghost guns online without a background check.[11] After receiving no relief at the circuit court level, the Administration appealed to the Supreme Court who then stayed the lower court’s decision.[12]
While an outcome on the merits is still to be decided, the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule a lower court’s injunction on federal gun regulations twice has been hailed a victory for the Biden Administration and gun regulation advocates.[13] Notably, while the first order blocking the preliminary injunction noted four Justices in dissent, the October order was made without any dissent, possibly indicating that the dissenters viewed Judge O’Connor’s actions as defiance that needed to be shut down.[14] As this case and other ghost gun cases[15] make their way through the court, it is unclear whether the court willingness to allow the gun regulations to stay in place through the litigation is an indicator of whether it will ultimately side with federal agencies or overrule their regulations in light of second amendment or government overreach concerns.
Logan Smedley is a J.D. Candidate in Vanderbilt Law School’s Class of 2025 and an Arkansas Native.
[1] Andrew Chung, US Supreme Court Blocks Judge’s Order Allowing ‘Ghost Gun” Sales, Reuters (Oct. 16, 2023 4:00 PM), https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-blocks-judges-order-allowing-ghost-gun-sales-2023-10-16/.
[2] Katie Buehler, Ghost Gun Firms Must Make Weapons Traceable For Now, Law 360 (Oct. 16, 2023 4:41 PM),
https://plus.lexis.com/newsstand/law360/article/1733422.
[3] BMG Products, https://www.bmgproducts.com/about-us (last visited Oct. 16, 2023).
[4] Defense Distributed, https://defdist.org (last visited Oct.16, 2023).
[5] Andrew Chung, US Supreme Court Blocks Judge’s Order Allowing ‘Ghost Gun” Sales, Reuters (Oct. 16, 2023 4:00 PM),https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-blocks-judges-order-allowing-ghost-gun-sales-2023-10-16/.
[6] Katie Buehler, Ghost Gun Firms Must Make Weapons Traceable For Now, Law 360 (Oct. 16, 2023 4:41 PM),
https://plus.lexis.com/newsstand/law360/article/1733422.
[7] Andrew Chung, US Supreme Court Blocks Judge’s Order Allowing ‘Ghost Gun” Sales, Reuters (Oct. 16, 2023 4:00 PM),https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-supreme-court-blocks-judges-order-allowing-ghost-gun-sales-2023-10-16/.
[8] Id.
[9] Katie Buehler, Ghost Gun Firms Must Make Weapons Traceable For Now, Law 360 (Oct. 16, 2023 4:41 PM),
https://plus.lexis.com/newsstand/law360/article/1733422.
[10] Id.
[11] Id.
[12] Garland v. Blackhawk Mfg. Grp., Inc., 2023 U.S. LEXIS 3925.
[13] See Amy Howe, Justices Again Side with Biden on Ghost Guns, SCOTUS Blog (Oct. 16, 2023 6:00 PM),
https://www.scotusblog.com/2023/10/justices-again-side-with-biden-on-ghost-guns/.
[14] Garland v. Blackhawk Mfg. Grp., Inc., 2023 U.S. LEXIS 3925; Ian Millhiser, The Supreme Court’s very brief decision about guns, explained, Vox (Oct. 17, 2023 12:55 PM), https://www.vox.com/scotus/2023/10/17/23919988/supreme-court-ghost-guns-garland-blackhawk-manufacturing.
[15] See Cory Sharber & Abbey Lamb, Philadelphia Announces Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturers After Police Say Ghost Guns Were Used in Kingsessing Mass Shooting, NPR (July 6, 2023 2:40 PM), https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-lawsuit-gun-manufacturers-ghost-guns/.