Ninth Circuit dismisses California and Giffords lawsuit against ATF ghost gun rules

A three-judge panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dismissed a lawsuit brought by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the Giffords Law Center against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The lawsuit challenged federal regulations regarding “ghost guns”—untraceable firearms often assembled from partially completed components.

In a unanimous 3-0 decision, the court ruled that the plaintiffs lacked standing to bring the challenge. The court found that the claims of harm were based on speculation regarding future unlawful conduct and the decisions of independent actors. Specifically, the court noted that California and Giffords failed to demonstrate that the ATF’s interpretation of the rule—which treats partially completed receivers as firearms only under certain conditions—caused them direct, non-speculative harm or forced them to expend additional resources.

The ruling reverses a previous lower court decision that had allowed the case to proceed. The dispute centered on whether the Biden administration-era rule was sufficiently strict in its regulation of components used to build semi-automatic rifles.