This week the US Supreme Court kicked off a new term with a major case today focused on federal regulations of so-called ghost guns.

Those are firearms that are assembled at home with a kit.

They don't have traceable serial numbers,

and they don't require background checks.

The justices weighed whether the government can regulate

ghost guns with the same standard as other firearms made by licensed manufacturers.

Our US Supreme Court analyst Marsha Koyle was in the courtroom today and she joins us right now.

It's great to see you, Marsha.

Good see you, Jeff. So today the justices

seemed focused on questions of government overreach. Help us understand how this matter of government

power factored into the arguments today. Well, first of all, this case is very similar to last term's bump stock case if you recall

the Supreme Court basically threw out the ban on bump stocks because the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and

explosives claimed that bump stocks could be banned as machine guns.

Both cases are statutory interpretation cases. They don't have anything

to do with the Second Amendment or constitutional law. Both cases are also part of an ongoing theme at the Supreme Court, almost a mission to re-examine federal agency power to see if agencies are overstepping.

There is this belief among conservatives and business

that the administrative state has gotten too big, too powerful. And in the

arguments today, it affected an interesting way.

Justice Kagan had a comment where she talked about the Gun Control Act that's at stake in this case

that defines and regulates firearms.

She said, well, what if you have an old statute?

Gun Control Act was enacted in 86 or 68, 68.

...