Barrett's Omelet Question on Ghost Guns Is Telling

The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in one of its most closely watched cases of the new term—whether "ghost guns" can be regulated in much the same manner as regular guns. And while the decision won't be out for months, the court seems poised to side with the Biden administration and deliver a rare victory for advocates of tougher gun laws, reports the Washington Post. People can buy ghost gun kits online, and they can be assembled in relatively quick fashion at home. The case hinges on whether the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exceeded its authority in 2022 when it imposed rules requiring serial numbers and background checks on ghost guns, per CNN.

The court's three liberal justices appear to be safe votes in favor of the rules, and the New York Times reports that Chief Justice John Roberts and Amy Coney Barrett seem willing to join them in a majority. Roberts, for example, pushed back against the notion put forth by attorney Peter A. Patterson that assembling a ghost gun was something hobbyists did, similar to working on a classic car. "Drilling a hole or two, I would think, doesn't give the same sort of reward that you get from working on your car on the weekends," Roberts said, per CNN. "My understanding is that it's not terribly difficult for someone to do this."

As for Coney Barrett, Vox calls attention to a hypothetical she posed after Samuel Alito grilled Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who was arguing on behalf of the government. Alito wondered whether omelet ingredients on a counter constituted an omelet, and Prelogar answered it did not. Coney Barrett then jumped in, per the Hill: "Would your answer change if you ordered it from HelloFresh and you got a kit?" Prelogar said that would change the answer because the sole purpose of the kit is to make an omelet. Coney Barrett's question suggested she thinks the same principle applies to ghost gun kits, per Vox. (More ghost guns stories.)