Ghost Gun Kits Will Still Be Regulated—for Now
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What Could Go Right? is a free weekly newsletter from The Progress Network written by our executive director, Emma Varvaloucas. In addition to this newsletter, which collects substantive progress news from around the world, The Progress Network is also home to the anti-apocalypse conversational podcast also called What Could Go Right?.
Last week, the Supreme Court found a gun regulation they could get behind: a Biden-era rule that subjected ghost gun kits to the same purchasing requirements as ordinary firearms, such as a serial number, background check, age verification, and sales tracking. The 7-2 decision in Bondi v. VanDerStok will allow the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to continue enforcing these rules on manufacturers of ghost gun kits.
Until 2022, buying a ghost gun kit was one way to get around such constraints. The kits, which include all of the component parts of a gun, can be bought online and then assembled at home like IKEA furniture. “Perhaps a half hour of work is required before anyone can fire a shot,” wrote Justice Neil Gorsuch in the case’s opinion.
Without a serial number or record of purchase, these DIY weapons are essentially invisible to police. Their use in crime skyrocketed in a few short years; 27,000 were recovered by law enforcement in 2023, according to Justice Department data, up from roughly 1,600 in 2017.
What About Trump?
That the Court decided that the regulation could be kept in place does not mean that it will be. In February, President Trump directed the Attorney General to conduct a review of gun legislation set by the Biden administration, and it’s unknown whether this rule could be on the chopping block. So far, the administration has not given us much to read in the tea leaves. In regard to the Court’s recent decision, an anonymous spokesperson commented only that “this Department of Justice will continue to support and defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.” Leaving the regulation standing would forecast the continuation of a positive trend. “Since [Biden’s] federal rule was finalized,” reports The Associated Press, citing the case’s court documents, “ghost gun numbers have flattened out or declined in several major cities,” and manufacturing of miscellaneous gun parts has declined by over a third.
A Mixed Record
Despite the Court’s conservative majority, its rulings around firearms have not toed a strict pro-gun rights line. In 2022, the Court expanded gun rights when it ruled that Americans can carry firearms in public for self-defense. In the summer of 2024, the justices quashed a ban—enacted by the first Trump administration—on bump stocks, which convert semi-automatic weapons so that they can fire nearly as fast as a machine gun. The Court handed domestic abuse advocates a victory, however, that same summer, when it affirmed that it was constitutional for police to temporarily take away the firearms of people under active restraining orders.
Further Reading
—Emma Varvaloucas
What Could Go Right? S7 E5: Are We the Real Fossil Fools? with Emily Atkin
Why doesn’t the media name and shame the real villains of the climate change story? How can tobacco industry-like litigation impact fossil fuel companies? What are the obstacles of transitioning to a clean energy future? Zachary and Emma speak with journalist, author, and founder of the Heated Substack, Emily Atkin. They discuss the Trump administration’s impact on worldwide climate policy and financing, the power of 24 American states participating in fossil fuel lawsuits and Paris Agreement goals, and how Germany walked back its renewable energy stance after Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster. Emily also emphasizes the need for transparent journalism when covering climate issues. | Listen now
By the Numbers
6.8M: The number of averted cancer deaths in the European Union between 1989 and 2025.
80: The percent of Pakistan’s population that now live in areas where neonatal tetanus has been eliminated. Pakistan is one of the 10 countries in the world where maternal and neonatal tetanus remain.
178K: The number of electric vehicle charging ports in California, outnumbering the estimated 120,000 gas nozzles for the first time.
3: The number of US states soon to have a full ban on products with intentionally added PFAS, the toxic “forever chemicals” that linger in the human body. New Mexico is set to join Maine and Minnesota, pending the governor’s signature.
Quick Hits
👍 The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the first at-home, over-the-counter STD test, which works within 30 minutes for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. The agency also greenlit the first new antibiotic for urinary tract infections in 30 years.
🧬 A man has become the first American to receive a transplant of sperm-producing stem cells, in a bid to restore the fertility of childhood cancer survivors. Eighty-five percent of children with cancer now survive to adulthood, but a third are left infertile from chemotherapy or radiation. It will be some time before doctors know if the experiment worked. Belgian doctors performed a similar procedure in January.
🔬 Uganda is currently in the midst of an Ebola outbreak, which has so far been contained to under 25 cases since it first started in January. Key to the nation’s success was the record-breaking quickness—just 24 hours—by which a team of scientists identified the virus’ strain.
⚡ By 2030, Michigan may be home to the US’ first commercial small modular reactors, a.k.a mini nuclear plants that are simpler and cheaper to build than traditional nuclear reactors.
🐦 Breeding pairs of one of England’s rarest birds, the Stone-curlew, have more than doubled since 1985. Partnerships with landowners and farmers have made the difference in protecting this googly-eyed bird, whose nesting sites were disappearing.
🚀 The NASA Curiosity rover has found more organic molecules—potentially fragments of fatty acids, which help form cell membranes—on Mars. It was confirmed for the first time that Neptune has infrared auroras, and Blue Ghost has completed the first fully successful commercial operation on the moon (although it was sponsored by NASA).
☀️ Enough renewable energy capacity was added around the world in 2024 to power over 500 million homes for a year, but the rate of growth is just under the global goal to triple installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.
👀 What we’re watching: The head of the World Bank has asked its board to reverse its longstanding policy on not funding nuclear energy, which could be a good, green option for poor countries looking to expand their energy infrastructure.
💡 Editor’s pick: A plan for the reorganization of US international aid has been leaked. Does it represent the first green shoots of a positive outcome?
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