Litigation
U.S. District Court Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas has granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs in the case VanDerStok v. Garland, vacating the ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule and preventing the federal government from enforcing it, saying, “Because the Court concludes that the government cannot regulate those items without violating federal law, the Court holds that the government’s recently enacted Final Rule… is unlawful agency action taken in excess of the ATF’s statutory jurisdiction. On this basis, the Court vacates the Final Rule.” Judge O’Connor went on to say, “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,” and “Because the Final Rule purports to regulate both firearm components that are not yet a ‘frame or receiver’ and aggregations of weapon parts not otherwise subject to its statutory authority, the Court holds that the ATF has acted in excess of its statutory jurisdiction by promulgating it.” The decision was not based on Second Amendment claims but instead on whether the ATF had the authority under the Administrative Procedures Act to reinterpret the way it enforces federal gun laws to regulate unfinished parts and whether that reinterpretation was consistent with the law’s language. In other words, ATF cannot make up its own laws to supplant federal statutes.
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted review in United States v. Rahimi. In February, a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled the prohibition on owning guns while being subject to a domestic violence restraining order is unconstitutional. The Department of Justice (DOJ) appealed that decision, and now the Court will now take up that same question. The lower court’s ruling found that the law ran afoul of the Second Amendment’s “right to keep and bear arms” because it fell outside “our nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”
U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle of the Northern District of Texas has denied a request by the NRA to intervene in the Second Amendment Foundation’s challenge to the Biden administration’s new arm brace rule in an effort to get the same protections for its members as SAF members have been granted via a preliminary injunction in the case. Brace owners can still join the SAF and receive the protections.
But the NRA then turned around and filed its own lawsuit against the ATF and its arm brace rule this week in U.S. district court in Texas, arguing in its complaint that the rule is unconstitutional, as the ATF reverses its long-standing position that pistol braces do not transform pistols into rifles subject to onerous registration and taxation requirements under the National Firearms Act. The new suit does not automatically confer injunction protection to NRA members. Perhaps more importantly, the NRA hired Bill Brewer III again to litigate this case. So instead of going with a strong 2A attorney as in the past, WLP & Co. is staying in bed with the attorney whose primary purpose seems to be to keep Wayne out of jail while getting as rich as possible in the process, using your money.
Meanwhile, David Dell’Aquila is revitalizing his suit against the NRA, the NRA Foundation, and Wayne LaPierre, over the association’s financial and managerial shipwreck occurring in recent years.
ATF fails to revoke New Jersey gun dealer’s federal firearm license
Scot Peterson, the “Coward of Broward” deputy sheriff who hid from the killer at the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school massacre in Florida while on duty as a school resource officer, was acquitted by a jury of seven counts of felony child neglect, three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury stemming from arguably preventable deaths and injuries of eight students and two school employees on the third floor of the building that occurred after Peterson arrived on scene and refused to enter. You are on your own.
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The ACLDN July Newsletter is out
You may be interested in the Attorney Question of the Month from the attorney in Tennessee.
The President’s Message contains a good explanation of the benefits of the ACLDN. Full disclosure: I am a paid member, but have no other connection with the network.
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Friends
- The Academy of Doctors of Audiology (ADA), an independent medical group that focuses on evidence-based practices in the delivery of audio-vestibular care, is supporting the deregulation of suppressors through the Hearing Protection Act.
Enemies
- The UN is going after the government’s stockpiles of ammo. Yours will be next.
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is running for the Democratic nomination for President, said during a town hall with NewsNation last week that he’s “not going to take people’s guns away,” but in the next breath said he would ban guns. Go ahead and guess which one to believe.
- ATF abuse
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Prosecutors accused of lying. Is anyone surprised?
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DGUs
- A Las Vegas man stopped what could have been a deadly attack two weeks ago by shooting a man who opened fire with a rifle in an apartment complex.
- American Rifleman’s The Armed Citizen – July 3, 2023
- Chicago concealed carry holders stop robbery, home invasion in separate incidents
Did Hollywood learn anything from the “Rust” manslaughter?
- Nope.
Rule 4.
Jackson, MS
- Jackson police report that the city’s homicide rate is down 27% compared to last year, with only two homicides per week so far this year.
Tactics & Stuff
Factoids
The History Channel claims that Texans possess 51 million guns. Of course there’s only one way to truly know, and no one wants to know that badly.
June was the 47th consecutive month in which over 1 million (1,110,696) NSSF-adjusted background checks – representing approximate sales – were conducted in a single month.
Industry News
We remain unaware of any .380-platform pistol now being factory chambered in 30 Super Carry caliber, which was its alleged main raison d’être. So that means there is really no reason for it…
An item we missed late last year: Nighthawk Custom of Arkansas has bought Cooper Firearms of Montana and moved the business to Arkansas. They both make top-shelf items.
The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute, Inc. has announced the acceptance of a new shotshell and rimfire cartridge for SAAMI standardization. These are the 28 gauge 3″ and the 21 Sharp.
The 28-Gauge 3″ was introduced by Olin Winchester with three loadings: 1 oz. lead shot at 1,200 fps, ¾ oz. non-lead shot at 1,350 fps, and 1 oz. non-lead shot at 1,300 fps, all at a Maximum Average Pressure of 14,000 psi.
The 21 Sharp rimfire cartridge was introduced by Olin Winchester with a 25-grain bullet at 1,725 fps and a Maximum Average Pressure of 24,000 psi.
The SAF/CCRKBA 2023 annual Gun Rights Policy Conference (GRPC) will be in Phoenix Arizona September 22nd through September 24th. Free.
Products
We reported last week on Timney’s new affordable drop-in Remington 700 trigger. Now the company tells us that all new Remington 700 rifles will come standard with Timney triggers. The Alpha 1 and Police will have the Timney Elite Hunter trigger, and all other Model 700s will have the new Impact 700 trigger.
CCI’s new Uppercut .22 Long Rifle ammunition is loaded with an exclusive 32-grain JHP bullet with nose skiving that initiates full and reliable expansion through 2.5- to 4-inch handgun barrels, while retaining the weight needed to hit “critical” penetration depths. The unwaxed bullet reduces fouling and improves feeding in all conditions. Coming soon.
Also coming soon from CCI is the new Clean-22 Hyper Velocity .22 LR, with a 31-grain purple polymer coated LRN bullet at 1550 fps.
Weaponlight?
