The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) suffered a significant setback recently in a Texas court, but the war may not be over. If there is still fighting left to be done, the Second Amendment Foundation said it is ready to carry on.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor handed down a 38-page ruling vacating the ATF’s “final rule” on designating unfinished frames and receivers as firearms.
He correctly declared, “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.”
While O’Connor’s ruling is to be celebrated as a victory for Second Amendment advocates, it may not be the final word. It would not be surprising if the federal government decided to attempt to work around this decision against their objectives and take the court battle higher.
That’s fine, according to SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut.
He called the ruling a stumbling block for Washington’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. We are pleased the court took this decisive action, and we will litigate this issue to finality, if and when the government appeals.”
That appeal is likely, most believe, as the White House is determined to place as many obstacles between gun owners and their rights as possible.
Overreaching gun policies by states and the ATF are crashing into legal barriers with regularity recently. That is due to the overreach that anti-gun zealots insist on pursuing despite their laws and regulations being obviously unconstitutional.
And with states blatantly ignoring the Supreme Court’s clear rulings on Second Amendment issues, do not be surprised if more monumental decisions are handed down against gun control.
