Alito pauses another ruling from Texas judge limiting Biden regulations of ghost guns

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Friday froze a lower court ruling that blocked the Biden administration from regulating so-called ghost guns after a controversial ruling from a district court judge in Texas.

Alito, who has jurisdiction over the lower court involved in the case, said the administrative stay would expire on October 16.

On Thursday, the Biden administration filed an emergency application asking the justices to once again allow the government to regulate so-called ghost guns, arguing that the district court judge had essentially revoked an order the Supreme Court issued just two months ago.

Ghost guns are kits that a user can buy online to assemble a fully functional firearm. They have no serial numbers, do not require background checks and provide no transfer records for easy traceability. Critics say they are attractive to people who are legally prohibited from buying firearms.

In August, a 5-4 court sided with the Biden administration in a challenge brought by a group of manufacturers and allowed the regulations to remain in effect while legal challenges play out.

After the order was issued, however, US district Judge Reed O'Connor stepped in to block the regulations as applied to two manufacturers. The injunction was largely upheld by the 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals.

In an unusually sharp filing, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar told the justices on Thursday that the district court and the Fifth Circuit "have effectively countermanded this Court's authoritative determination about the status quo that should prevail during appellate proceedings in this case."