Delaware Tries to Reframe Its Defeated Ghost Gun Ban as Serialization Rule
Delaware lost its fight to ban homemade firearms in federal court, and instead of moving on, the state is asking the judge to reconsider, arguing its "ghost gun" bans were really just serialization rules all along.
Snapshot
Firearms Policy Coalition filed a 21-page opposition on November 12 in Rigby v. Jennings, pushing back on Delaware's attempt to undo a September ruling that struck down its bans on possessing and manufacturing privately made firearms. The state wants the judge to reverse that judgment, claiming the bans amount to nothing more than paperwork requirements.
Key points
- The original win: U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika permanently blocked Delaware's bans on unserialized firearms, unfinished frames/receivers, and home manufacturing in September, finding no evidence these firearms pose unique dangers.
- Delaware's new angle: The state is citing a Third Circuit suppressor-registration case and House Bill 418, a six-month compliance window for existing unserialized items, to argue its laws are just serialization requirements.
- FPC's counter: President Brandon Combs calls that framing "complete nonsense," noting Delaware's laws flatly prohibit manufacturing firearms, serialized or not, and H.B. 418 doesn't let plaintiffs Rigby and Knight reclaim firearms they already surrendered.
- What's still in play: Delaware's commercial-distribution and 3-D printing file restrictions remain enforceable regardless of the outcome, and a related Third Circuit appeal is stayed pending this motion.
Quick take
This is the part of 2A litigation that doesn't get as much attention as the initial ruling but matters just as much: whether a state can lose on constitutional grounds and then talk its way back into the same restrictions with different labels. Worth watching if you build or own unserialized firearms anywhere near Delaware's jurisdiction.
Read the full story: Duncan Johnson Editor in Chief