Federal bans on bump stocks and pistol braces are no longer in effect, while the ATF’s ghost-gun rule remains in force. Two of the three rules were struck down in court — the Supreme Court invalidated the bump-stock ban in June 2024, and a federal district court vacated the pistol-brace rule the same month — and the ATF has since proposed formally repealing both. The ghost-gun rule survived: the Supreme Court upheld it 7-2 in March 2025. Here is where each of these ATF ban updates on bump stocks, pistol braces, and ghost guns stands now, and what it means if you own one of these items.
Pistol Braces: Rule Vacated, Repeal Pending
The 2023 ATF rule reclassified AR-15-type pistols equipped with stabilizing braces as “short-barreled rifles” under the National Firearms Act and Gun Control Act. Owners faced a felony unless they registered the firearm and paid a $200 tax stamp or disassembled it.1The Washington Times. ATF Scrutinized for Enforcing Pistol Brace Rule Years After Court Killed It
On June 13, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas universally vacated the rule in Mock v. Garland.2Federal Register. Removing Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces The Fifth Circuit dismissed pending appeals as moot in August 2024, and the government’s remaining appeal in Mock v. Bondi was dismissed by joint agreement on July 17, 2025, making the vacatur final and non-appealable.3Firearms Policy Coalition. Order Vacating Biden Pistol Brace Rule Stands, Government Dismisses Appeal
Even after the vacatur, gun rights advocates said the ATF continued treating braced pistols as short-barreled rifles in practice. In a March 2026 court filing in the Southern District of Texas, the agency stated it “continues to enforce certain statutory requirements and prohibitions” regarding brace-equipped pistols, arguing the underlying statutes remained in effect regardless of the vacated rule.1The Washington Times. ATF Scrutinized for Enforcing Pistol Brace Rule Years After Court Killed It
On May 6, 2026, the ATF published a notice of proposed rulemaking to formally rescind the brace regulation, removing the paragraphs added to 27 CFR 478.11 and 479.11. The agency said it would not issue a replacement factoring test, concluding that a predetermined factored approach was not the best way to classify these firearms. The public comment period closes on August 4, 2026.2Federal Register. Removing Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces
What this means for owners: braced pistols are not currently regulated as short-barreled rifles under the vacated rule. Statutory NFA definitions remain on the books, however, and the ATF has signaled it will still apply them in individual cases. If your configuration could arguably fall within the statutory definition of a short-barreled rifle independent of the vacated rule, that risk hasn’t gone away.
Bump Stocks: Struck Down by the Supreme Court
The ATF issued its bump-stock rule in 2018 after the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting, reversing its earlier position and classifying the devices as machine guns. Owners had to surrender or destroy them. Michael Cargill, a veteran and gun store owner who turned in two bump stocks under protest, sued under the Administrative Procedure Act.4SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bump Stock Ban
On June 14, 2024, the Supreme Court ruled 6-3 in Garland v. Cargill that bump stocks are not “machine guns” under federal law. Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for the majority, concluded that a semiautomatic rifle equipped with a bump stock does not fire more than one shot by a “single function of the trigger” because the shooter must release and reset the trigger between each shot. The device only accelerates how quickly those separate trigger functions happen. The Court also found the firing process is not “automatic” because the shooter has to maintain continuous forward pressure on the front grip.5Supreme Court of the United States. Garland v. Cargill
Justice Samuel Alito concurred but suggested Congress could amend the statute to reach these devices if it wanted to. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented, warning that the ruling “eviscerates Congress’s regulation of machineguns.”4SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bump Stock Ban
After the ruling, the ATF began the process of formally repealing the bump-stock regulation. The repeal was included in a package of 34 notices of final and proposed rulemaking the DOJ and ATF announced on April 29, 2026.6The Trace. ATF Gun Rule Changes Under Cekada7U.S. Department of Justice. DOJ and ATF Announce Regulatory Reforms to Reduce Burdens on Law-Abiding Gun Owners and Businesses
What this means for owners: bump stocks are no longer classified as machine guns under federal law. State laws are a separate matter. If Congress amends the machine gun statute — as Justice Alito’s concurrence invited — the analysis changes.
Ghost Guns: Rule Upheld by the Supreme Court
The 2022 ghost-gun rule targeted untraceable firearms assembled from kits or partially complete frames and receivers. The ATF argued manufacturers were using these products to sidestep the Gun Control Act’s background check and serial number requirements. A federal judge in the Northern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction against the rule, and the Fifth Circuit largely upheld that injunction, but the Supreme Court stayed the order, keeping the rule in effect during the appeal.8SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Upholds Regulation of Ghost Guns
On March 26, 2025, the Supreme Court upheld the rule 7-2 in Bondi v. VanDerStok. Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing for the majority, held that the Gun Control Act’s definition of “firearm” reaches at least some weapon parts kits and partially complete frames or receivers that can be “readily converted” into functional firearms. The Court pointed to products like the Polymer80 “Buy Build Shoot” kit, which could be assembled into a working firearm in minutes with common tools, as an example that falls within the statute.9Supreme Court of the United States. Bondi v. VanDerStok
Justice Thomas dissented, arguing the ATF lacked statutory authority to regulate unfinished parts and that the majority had effectively rewritten the text. Justice Alito dissented on procedural grounds.9Supreme Court of the United States. Bondi v. VanDerStok
The majority also drew limits. The decision does not give the ATF authority to regulate “every piece or part” of a firearm, and future “as-applied” challenges could test where the line falls between a regulated kit and an unregulated component.9Supreme Court of the United States. Bondi v. VanDerStok The ghost-gun rule is the only one of the three major ATF rules discussed here that has survived both litigation and the change in administration.
What this means for buyers and sellers: kits and partial frames or receivers that qualify as “firearms” under the rule are subject to the same serial number, background check, and dealer licensing requirements as complete firearms. Whether a particular product falls inside or outside the rule can still be litigated case by case.
Where This Leaves Owners
Three rules, three different endings. Bump stocks and pistol braces are out from under their federal rules — one struck down by the Supreme Court, the other vacated by a federal district court and now heading for formal repeal. Ghost-gun regulation remains in effect after the Supreme Court’s 7-2 decision. The ATF’s April 2026 rulemaking package covers the repeals of the brace and bump-stock rules along with more than thirty other proposed changes.7U.S. Department of Justice. DOJ and ATF Announce Regulatory Reforms to Reduce Burdens on Law-Abiding Gun Owners and Businesses
A few boundaries worth keeping in mind. Federal deregulation of bump stocks and braces does not override state law; some states restrict these devices independently. The underlying National Firearms Act definitions of “machine gun” and “short-barreled rifle” remain on the books, and the ATF has said it will continue to apply the statutory language in individual cases involving braced pistols even after the rule was vacated.1The Washington Times. ATF Scrutinized for Enforcing Pistol Brace Rule Years After Court Killed It Congress could also amend the machine gun statute to reach bump stocks, an option Justice Alito’s concurrence expressly flagged.4SCOTUSblog. Supreme Court Strikes Down Bump Stock Ban
If you owned a bump stock that you surrendered or destroyed under the 2018 rule, or a braced pistol you registered under the 2023 rule, the federal legal basis for those actions has been eliminated. If you own or are considering a ghost-gun kit, the rule still applies and the same background check, serial number, and licensing requirements that govern complete firearms will apply to any kit that meets the “readily converted” standard the Supreme Court endorsed.
The pistol-brace repeal is not final yet. The comment period on the proposed rescission closes on August 4, 2026, and the ATF will publish a final rule after reviewing comments.2Federal Register. Removing Factoring Criteria for Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces Until then, the district court’s vacatur is what removes the rule from effect, not the ATF’s own action.