President Donald Trump’s DOJ on Thursday dropped its appeal to a ruling that found the Biden-era ATF exceeded is statutory authority by issuing the “engaged in the business rule.”
The ubiquitous goal of the rule was the implementation of near universal background checks on American gun buyers.
Gun Owners of America noted, “Under the rule, even a single private firearm sale could suddenly become a federal crime. And ATF inverted the ordinary judicial process, presuming gun owners guilty until proven innocent.”
In the summer of 2024, U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled against the “engaged in the business” rule, barring the ATF from enforcing it against Texans, Louisianans, Mississippians, and Utahns and nationwide for GOA members as well as members of the Tennessee Firearms Association and Virginia Citizens Defense League.
The Biden DOJ appealed the ruling and yesterday, the Trump DOJ dropped the appeal. The Trump DOJ noted that the rule will be revisited with plans to “revise” the rule.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward commented on the appeal being withdrawn: “Under President Trump’s and Acting Attorney General Blanche’s leadership, the Justice Department is committed to rolling back Biden-era policies that ran roughshod over the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”
Gun rights groups hope this strong Second Amendment action is a sign of great things to come in Trump’s post-Pam Bondi DOJ.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He holds a PhD in Military History with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. He enjoys reading Philosophy and novels by Jack Carr and Nelson DeMille. Follow him on X: @awrhawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at [email protected].
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