BELLEVUE, WA—The Second Amendment Foundation is celebrating a ruling by a federal judge in Texas against Joe Biden’s ATF by vacating the agency’s “final rule” which treated unfinished frames and receivers the same as if they are functional firearms.
SAF was allowed to intervene in the case last December. The case is known as VanDerStok v. Garland.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down the decision Friday, noting in his 38-page ruling that, “A part that has yet to be completed or converted to function as frame or receiver is not a frame or receiver. ATF’s declaration that a component is a ‘frame or receiver’ does not make it so if, at the time of evaluation, the component does not yet accord with the ordinary public meaning of those terms.”
SEE ALSO: Lawmakers Want to Tax AR Lowers to Close ‘Loophole,’ Use Revenue to Fund Gun Control
Elsewhere, Judge O’Connor puts ATF on the spot by rejecting the government’s argument that it has previously taken action against a firearm component, thus it has regulatory authority over firearm parts. But the judge observes, “If these administrative records show, as Defendants contend, that ATF has previously regulated components that are not yet frames or receivers but could readily be converted into such items, then the historical practice does nothing more than confirm that the agency has, perhaps in multiple specific instances over several decades, exceeded the lawful bounds of its statutory jurisdiction. That the agency may have historically acted ultra vires does not convince the Court it should be permitted to continue the practice.”
“We are delighted with Judge O’Connor’s ruling, and it certainly underscores why we intervened in this case,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “This decision amounts to another court blow to Joe Biden’s anti-gun agenda, which threatens the very Constitution he swore to uphold and defend when he took office.”
“This case is one more example of the Biden administration’s ongoing effort to exceed its authority in an effort to place as many restrictions as possible on the rights of law-abiding gun owners,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We are pleased the court took this decisive action, and we will litigate this issue to finality, if and when, the government appeals.”
About SAF
The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
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Joe Biden! Is that you?
I strongly disagree with the 80% receivers it’s the biggest mistake and biggest embarrassment America’s ever made well I am 100% pro gun I am not 100% convicts owning guns are terrorists being able to get their hands on guns I have no problem having a background check done when I purchased guns are receivers neither should anybody else whether it’s 80% receiver or 100% functional it’s the safety of our society and our kids not someone’s right to be able to build an unregistered untraceable ghost gun
By your language, lack of punctuation and usage of terms, I assume this a trolling post. Maybe by a bot, maybe a translation, maybe just a heartfelt plea for attention?
Most likely he’s just an embecile.
Another NRA naysayer who doesn’t pay attention to what they DO do.
WHY should the NRA put money into something another 2A is already putting money into???
And….. ONCE AGAIN!…..
Where’s the NRA on this.
NRA = process oriented ‘action’.
SAF = result oriented action.
Halleluiah! My biggest complaint about that “Final Ruling” is the deceptive “data” the JD used. First of all, those 80% AR receiver blanks are certainly NOT “readily ” convertible to a working receiver. It takes hours of careful precision work by someone with at least craftsman level skills to finish the receiver. I know a fellow who possesses those very skills who ruined two 80% AR receivers before he finally turned out one that was functional on the third try. While it is true that someone with CNC manufacturing skill and equipment could manufacture a volume of finished receivers in say, one hour each, such manufacturing practices are ALREADY ILLEGAL without the proper licensing from the feds, and proper serial numbering! The second deception is the ATF claiming that they seized over 2,500 illicit “ghost guns” prior to their ruling. Where are the photos of those guns? Why were they seized? Were the possessors prosecuted and for what crimes? The answer, most probably, is that they were handguns used by criminals with the serial numbers ground off by criminals. THAT is the basis for all those “ghost guns,” in my view. Stay safe.
The American constitution was contrived and written after the Revolutionary War was fought and won by the colonies. The right to bear arms was considered paramount as the nation went forward building America and insuring a method was written into this document giving us the ability to forever fight enemy invaders. Technology over the years provided the new nation with rapid fire weapons in the hands of all citizens eventually used on each other. In the year 2023 we are as the old saying says, “caught between a rock and a hard spot.” We have a constitution that gives all the right to carry arms and we have the irresponsible Americans who use guns to kill innocent people. A quandary exists in our nation between the law and what is right and wrong.
The US district Judge ruled the ATF has previously regulated components that are not yet frames or receivers, historical practice does nothing more than confirm that the agency has, perhaps in multiple specific instances over several decades, exceeded the lawful bounds of its statutory jurisdiction…….. I guess that just about says it all doesn’t it! The ATF has admitted they have purposely gone rouge and infringed on our rights the exact reason for the 2nd amendment. to stop a totalitarian government.
Properly cynical, CallPaul; “do not go gentle…”
Who pays attention is least surprised.
And best prepared.
I think we all can see who the ammosexuals are here!
Donate donate donate so it seems if you do not donate you have no rights of any kind. America has gotten lazy no longer is the hard work put in it’s all done through donations. Whether you be a Democrat or Republican whether you want gun rights or against them you have to donate America is broken. And money has corrupted it all.
That’s good news. It means Colorado’s attempts to ban Ghost Guns would likely be overturned too.
Now, hopefully the Pistol Brace Ban gets slapped silly.
and tomorrow they will come up with an exploitable loophole and start again (using our tax dollars)
It never ends with goose steppers, they won’t quit coming for our guns.dissolve this worthless agency already.