Erich Pratt, GOA executive vice president.
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A cadre of pro-gun organizations has won a major early victory over the Biden Administration’s new Final Rule redefining who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.

The gross overstep by the Justice Department (DOJ) and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which basically outlaws private gun sales and was set to take effect on Monday, has been challenged in court in a number of different lawsuits. On Sunday, in the case State of Texas v. BATF,  the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas approved a temporary restraining order on the Final Rule that states it may not be enforced against the individual plaintiff in the case, citizens of the of Texas, and members of Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, the Tennessee Firearms Association and the Virginia Citizens Defense League.

“The Final Rule creates sets of presumptions indicating (1) “when a person has the intent to ‘predominantly earn a profit’” and (2) “that someone is ‘engaged in the business,’” Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk wrote in the opinion. “But these presumptions are highly problematic for at least two reasons. First, they flip the statute on its head by requiring that firearm owners prove innocence rather than the government prove guilt… Second, several presumptions conflict with the statutory text.”

The ruling further stated: “And as this Court’s analysis makes clear, Defendants’ Final Rule is almost certainly violative of — at the least — the APA. As such, ‘both the balance of equities and the public interest weigh in favor of allowing orderly judicial review of the Rule before anyone shuts down their businesses or sends them to jail.’”

Erich Pratt, GOA senior vice president, said the ruling should be a lesson to the president and government bureaucrats who are charged with enforcing laws, not making them.

“President Biden and his anti-gun administration have aggressively pursued an agenda meant to harass, intimidate and criminalize gun owners and dealers at every turn,” Pratt said in a news release announcing the order. “This ruling is a compelling rebuke of their tyrannical and unconstitutional actions that purposely misinterpreted federal law to ensure their preferred policy outcome.”

While it’s likely the government will appeal the ruling, those involved in the lawsuit vow to see the matter through until the end.

“We will continue the fight to ensure that this administration never succeeds in their goal of building a comprehensive database of firearm transaction records, which this rule would have been critical to accomplishing,” Pratt said.

GOF Board Member Sam Paredes also praised the court ruling, which was a strong rebuke to the Biden Administration.

“It was clear from the start that the administration hoped to weaponize Senator Cornyn’s ‘compromise’ gun control package to further push their universal registration check agenda,” Paredes said. “We’re thrilled to have blunted the charge and are well-prepared to continue the fight going forward.”

According to the ruling, the temporary restraining order will remain in effect until June 2.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t understand why this administration and/or the ATF thinks that it can ignore the APA. It inevitably leads to a reversal of the new rule. Then again, I think some of these anti-gun jurisdictions are passing as many laws as they can, knowing that court action to get the laws or rules overturned are expensive and take a lot of time, and meanwhile the rule (usually) stays in effect until all appeals have been exhausted. (California and NY are playing this game.) Some could say that that is pretty cynical.

    • I think you nailed it exactly Mark N. They don’t care if what they do is unconstitutional and they have unlimited funding to fight it. In the mean time these bad laws across the county are putting a lot of gun stores and FFLs out of business. All part of the plan.

      • … death by a thousand paper cuts – except utilizing machetes instead of paper

      • Well unlimited funds till Fedzilla stops bailing out our state (NY) from our bad decisions, not sure about CA.

    • We don’t execute traitors to the constitution as 18 U.S. Code § 242 – Deprivation of rights under color of law clearly allows, demands even.
      So they might as well, if the laws and consequences don’t apply to them. If we win, a new Trump appointed AG should drag ALL democrats that ever supported gun control in front of court. And the RINOs too.

      • So, when Trump wins his AG will have all politicians that ever went the ‘wrong way’ on gun control tried, convicted, and executed as traitors.

        Does this include Trump who questioned the need for silencers and banned bump stocks?

    • How many times do I have to explain this?

      It’s a State-to-SCOTUS pipeline. (State as in “the government”.)

      They keep the pipeline full at all times so that they can do the following:

      1. Use your money to create and enforce rules and laws against you.
      2. Force you to use more of your money to fight against these things, further depleting your resources.
      3. Always have a raft of cases that, when they flip the court, will all go their direction with a quickness and the 2A will cease to have meaning.
      4. To a lesser extent, test current SCOTUS rulings to see if they can find gaps in the armor. That is, throw shit at the wall and see if anything sticks.

      This ain’t hard to understand. They openly tell you these things. They’ve written WHOLE BOOKS ON THE SUBJECT FFS! The only way this can seem opaque to you is if you refuse to listen or look at what they do and what they say about what they do.

      This is the kind of thing that makes me think that both the Right and most of the Freedom Movement actually want to lose. If they didn’t desire to be subjugated they’d actually study their enemy and look for effective ways to fight back. Yet, they don’t do this.

      The conclusion to draw from this behavior is that they possess a deeply repressed form of Stockholm Syndrome and actually want to be told what to do while at the same time complaining about “tyranny” which they do nothing of substance to oppose. Or, perhaps, the bulk of them are just plain old stupid.

      More and more it seems like the AnCaps have it more right than anyone else.

      • Or, there’s this siren voice that whispers “Did God really say don’t eat that apple, and don’t even touch it?” People who are not inoculated against that voice will eventually listen to it. That voice is currently taking 8.1 billion forms, and most folks don’t recognize it. Reading the end of the story, you’ll find that it ends well for many, but there’s a rough patch to go through prior.

        • I’m going to turn into dirt, and then grass, and then a rabbit, and then the rabbit gets ate by a hawk and then the hawk gets shot for stealing chickens and then a buzzard eats the hawk.
          Thank you God I now ride on wings

        • If you’re refering to the R’s that can’t figure this out even though they could know all of it in a few weeks with $50 on Amazon or B&N and signing up for a few mailing lists, then sure.

      • “ The conclusion to draw from this behavior is that they possess a deeply repressed form of Stockholm Syndrome and actually want to be told what to do while at the same time complaining about “tyranny” which they do nothing of substance to oppose.”

        No it’s just the unibrow agreement. Controlled opposition. The money flows both ways so there’s no incentive to stop it. I think the only real answer is True revival and a return to principled leadership…do you have faith in America or Jesus?

  2. “I don’t understand why this administration and/or the ATF thinks that it can ignore the APA.”

    “This Administration” has ignored the Supreme Court regarding the student loans forgiveness so ignoring the APA is business as usual.

  3. Plaintiffs Texas, Jeffery Tormey (“Tormey”),
    the Gun Owners of America, Inc. (“GOA”)
    the Gun Owners Foundation (“GOF”)
    the Tennessee Firearms Association (“TFA”)
    the Virginia Citizens Defense League (“VCDL”)

    If not already, please become a member.

    • Unfortunately being a member of a Rights org. is all the do it for me crowd thinks needs to be done. I.E. This video has been available for a while and not one of the GOA members on this forum posted the link much less bother to forward it to others, etc. I for one do not have to look very far for why Gun Control zealots feel free to say and do whatever they wish. They are emboldened by the fact most of America are Gun Control History illiterates and thanks for that goes to zipped lipped do it for me Gun Owners…
      https://youtube.com/watch?v=ceeCLRPl_80&feature=shared

      • Wow it looks like that guy on the rights Jenny Craig really worked, 150lbs in 3 weeks.
        I bet he is hoping for a good stiff wind and then The Great Escape, “Hold the blanket higher, higher. ”
        Whoosh, fck you Mary Poppins I’m outta here.

  4. Gun Control went from You’re Black, you’re Catholic, you’re American Indian, you’re Jewish to your barrel is a 1/32″ short, you’re stock is short, you’re trigger is too fast, your guns are assault weapons, your guns are untraceable, your guns kill children, your guns cannot be sold, etc. Where is it all headed? You own a gun you go to prison. You own two guns you will be executed…So to you fukheads who bark at Defining Gun Control by its History for a Gun Control History illiterate America you best pull your heads out of your pathetic behinds.

        • Aww can’t show that I am wrong still? Your reasoning is more empty than your insults which somehow is more empty than my screen name……..as usual. But go sperg out over your racist trump worship while obsessing over gay stuff.

  5. I have an old friend who I doubt has ever bought a gat from an FFL. And he has a boatload of rifles,shotguns & handguns. My best friend bought several from a friend in Indiana who “assured” him it was legal to not transfer them to ILLANNOY. He has an FFL. As way back in the 1970’s there was a gigantic subculture of people smoking & dealing pot. Same with flea markets not reporting “income”. Gun? What is a gun🙄 .Gov wants to tax/kill you!

  6. “Biden “Engaged In the Business” Rule Can‘t Be Enforced Against Some Americans”

    Allemande-left, Allemande-right.

    ‘The music plays and everyone must dance’

    • …. and it’s Allemande left,
      Allemande right,
      come on you ‘effer get your right step right
      … you piss me off, effin’ jerk, get on my nerves

      • “…. and it’s Allemande left,
        Allemande right,
        come on you ‘effer get your right step right”

        I thus stand corrected.

    • “When you dance with the devil, you wait for the song to stop. Know what I mean?”

  7. According to the ruling, the temporary restraining order will remain in effect until June 2.

    Two weeks of a temporary restraining order isn’t a “strong rebuke to the Biden Administration” IMHO.

    It’s more like your kid gets drunk and crashes a car and you ground them for a day or two.

    • That is just two weeks to allow the feds time to appeal. Which I imagine will turn out to be not a very good idea.

      • Why would they bother appealing something that expires in a mere two weeks?

        I mean, with only two exceptions, the people I went to school with who became .gov lawyers were the stupidest people I’ve ever met, but they’re not THAT stupid.

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