The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | January 2024
Continued from previous page Ghost guns before the court One final subject to address is the Supreme Court ’ s continuing jurisprudence concerning the Second Amendment and its impact on police officers .
On October 5 , 2023 , an application was sent to Justice Alito to vacate a September 14 , 2023 , order of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas that blocked the federal government from enforcing a Bureau of Alcohol , Tobacco , Firearms , and Explosives rule regarding ghost guns against gun manufacturers Blackhawk Manufacturing Group . An earlier August 2023 application pertaining to the ATF rule ( 87 Fed . Reg . 24652 , April 26 , 2022 ), Garland v . Vanderstock , resulted in a 5-4 decision vacating a prior stay of enforcement issued by the Northern District of Texas . This matter is likely to find its way back to the Court in one form or another .
The issue of ghost guns — generally , a collection of gun parts sold as ready-to-assemble kits — for now is guided by the ATF rule , which aids in the traceability of the weapon .
As the relatively new 2023 term of the Supreme Court progresses , two other important gun cases are pending before the Court flowing from its decision in NYSRPA v . Bruen , 142 S . Ct . 2111 ( 2022 ):
�� Garland v . Cargill will focus on whether a bump stock device is a “ machinegun ” as defined in 26 U . S . C . 5845 ( b ) because it is designed and intended for use in converting a rifle into a machinegun .
�� United States v . Rahimi will determine whether 18 U . S . C . 922 ( g )( 8 ), which prohibits the possession of firearms by persons subject to domestic violence restraining orders , violates the Second Amendment .
Both case results could have important outcomes for police officers and their exposure to gun threats and violence .
Terrence P . Dwyer retired from the New York State Police after a 22-year career as a Trooper and Investigator . He is now a tenured Professor in the Justice and Law Administration Department at Western Connecticut State University and an attorney in private practice representing law enforcement officers in disciplinary cases , critical incidents , and employment matters . He is the author of Legal Issues in Homeland Security , Looseleaf Law Publications .
12