Reuben King of Leacock Township sold thousands of guns without a federal license and was convicted in May. His attorney, Joshua Prince, declared the judge incorrectly denied the motion to dismiss before the trial.
The charges followed a Jan. 2022 raid on King’s property by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). King was ordered by the federal jury on May 17 to surrender all but three of the items seized by the ATF.
Government agents confiscated 625 rifles and shotguns in last year’s raid along with over 10,500 rounds of ammunition. The investigation had been ongoing since 2019.
King kept records that showed that thousands of firearms had been sold over several years. He denied dealing with handguns and none were seized on his property.
The dairyman did not deny selling the firearms but asserted the federal law requiring a license for dealers was unconstitutionally vague.
The ATF website features a 15-page document titled “Do I need a license to buy and sell firearms?” It states that if an individual repeatedly buys and sells weapons “with the principal motive of making a profit,” then they need the license.
However, if they engage in transactions only occasionally from their personal collection, a federal license is not needed.
In his defense, King noted that firearms dealers did not face requirements to obtain licenses until 1938 — 147 years after the Second Amendment was ratified.
U.S. District Judge Joseph Leeson rejected a motion by King’s attorney to put aside his felony conviction. Arguments that the Bruen test was not properly applied when King first attempted to have his charges dismissed were set aside.
Instead, Leeson wrote in his opinion that the protections afforded by the Second Amendment may only be regulated through applying legal action that is “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.” He denied King’s defense that the original court did not apply Bruen to the case.
“It simply never discussed the second part of the analysis because King’s conduct did not make it past the first part.” Essentially, the judge said that the Second Amendment does not apply to commercial firearms sales, and therefore the standard set by Bruen also does not apply.
This is unquestionably a victory for the anti-gun crowd. The current administration has made it plain that it wants to drive private sellers who are unlicensed out of business.
Last year’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act enacted new regulations aimed at forcing more private gun sellers to acquire a federal license. Further, the ATF is now charged with bringing the hammer down on even those dealers who are licensed.
The agency currently conducts more inspections and employs a “zero-tolerance” policy on even the smallest infractions.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed a lawsuit last month against the ATF for its new policy that automatically forces federal licensees to close their doors over insignificant violations.
Sam Paredes of the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) told Fox News Digital that it is “ridiculous that good people trying to make an honest living are facing this assault on their livelihoods simply over inconsequential paperwork errors.”
King may have had the misfortune to have been caught up in the same wide net that is sweeping up many in the weapons business. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 6. An appeal is expected to be filed after his sentence is handed down.
