Washington, DC — For years, they've been a nightmare for US law enforcement: firearms you can buy online, assemble at home and use with zero oversight.

No serial number. No background check. No paper trail. 

To police, they're called "ghost guns" because once they are out there, they vanish. 

They look like regular guns. Fire like regular guns. When law enforcement turns up at a crime scene, investigators hit a dead end.

There is no way to trace where it came from. No records of who bought it. No starting point for an investigation. 

That's why police departments across America have been sounding the alarm. And now, after years of legal battles, the Supreme Court has stepped in, delivering a major blow to the shadowy, unregulated world of ghost guns. 

In a historic 7-2 ruling on Wednesday, the top court upheld a Biden administration rule cracking down on DIY [Do it yourself] firearm kits, making them subject to the same federal regulations as traditional guns.

From now on, those kits must have serial numbers, and buyers must pass background checks. 

The ruling is being hailed as one of the biggest moves against untraceable firearms in years. But will it be enough for America? 

How ghost guns became a crisis

These guns weren't always a national problem. 

For a long time, they were a niche hobby: something gun enthusiasts tinkered with in their garages. Rather than buying a gun from a dealer, people could simply order a kit online, piece it together yourself, and skip the hassle of paperwork. 

But criminals saw the loophole. And they exploited it. 

Ghost guns became attractive for some to avoid the law. If the police find one at a crime scene, there's no way to trace its origin. 

Convicted felons, domestic abusers and people barred from owning guns could still buy them. Until now, the law didn't classify these kits as firearms, so they weren't regulated like one. 

And as gun violence in America surged, so did the number of ghost guns found at crime scenes. 

In 2017, law enforcement recovered fewer than 1,700 ghost guns nationwide. By 2023, that number had exploded to more than 27,000.

Ghost guns have been used in high-profile crimes, including a mass shooting carried out with an AR-15-style ghost gun in Philadelphia that left five people dead.

Police believe a ghost gun was used by Luigi Mangione in the slaying of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO in Manhattan.

What the ATF rule does

In 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) issued a rule designed to close the ghost gun loophole. It didn't ban ghost guns outright but it made them much harder to get. 

Under the new rule, ghost gun kits must have serial numbers. Buyers must pass background checks just like when purchasing a traditional firearm. 

You must be 21 or older to buy one. No more teenagers ordering deadly weapons off the internet. 

The impact was immediate. Police in New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia reported a drop in ghost gun recoveries. The Justice Department said the number of unregulated gun parts being manufactured fell by 36 percent.

But gun rights groups weren't about to let the rule stand without a fight. 

Legal battle over guns

The moment the ATF rule was announced, gun rights activists and ghost gun manufacturers took it to court. 

Their argument? The ATF overstepped its authority.

Federal law defines a firearm as a fully functional weapon — not a box of parts. If a gun is not fully assembled, they claimed, it is not a gun under the law. 

And in 2023, a lower court agreed. In Garland v VanDerStok, a judge ruled that the ATF had gone beyond its powers, effectively redefining what counts as a firearm instead of enforcing existing law. 

That ruling put the entire regulation on hold. And ghost gun kits were once again available to buy without restrictions. 

But now, the US Supreme Court has reversed that decision. 

A major shift on ghost guns

In its decision on Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that if a gun kit can be assembled into a working firearm with minimal effort, then it is a gun under federal law.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, a conservative Trump appointee, wrote that while hobbyists may enjoy building firearms, criminals also find them attractive. That, he argued, made regulation necessary. 

The ruling sends a clear message: ghost guns can't be left unchecked. 

With that, the Supreme Court has closed one of the biggest loopholes in US gun laws.

What happens now?

The ruling is a big victory for those who advocate gun control in the US. It reinforces the federal government's authority to regulate evolving firearm technology, including weapons that can be made with 3D printers. 

But the fight over ghost guns isn't over. 

Millions of unregistered ghost guns are already out there. The ruling ensures new kits will face tighter controls, but older weapons remain untraceable. 

As 3D printing advances, criminals may no longer need kits. They'll be able to manufacture entire guns at home, and no parts are required. 

Future lawsuits may focus on how the rule is enforced, arguing that requiring serial numbers on unfinished gun parts is too much government overreach. 

For now, though, the Supreme Court has drawn a clear legal line — ghost guns are real guns, and they're no longer operating in the shadows.