More than two dozen Republican attorneys general announced challenges on Wednesday to the proposed gun control rule from the Biden administration regulating private firearm sales.
Multiple suits were filed in federal court against the proposal, which would require individuals who “earn a profit” selling guns to conduct background checks and have a federal firearms license no matter where or how they sell their merchandise. Republicans say that the proposed regulations, put forth by the Justice Department, infringe on Second Amendment rights and would make it a felony for family members and friends to sell guns to each other without conducting background checks or having a federal license.
One effort, led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, sued the DOJ and the ATF, arguing that the ATF doesn’t have the statutory authority to enforce the rule and that it violates the Second and Fifth Amendments.
“Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights,” Paxton said. “This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government.”
The suit was joined by Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah, the Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, and the Tennessee Firearms Association.
A separate lawsuit, led by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, also challenges the DOJ and the ATF.
“Biden’s latest attempt to strip away the Second Amendment rights of Americans through ATF regulations will make many law-abiding gun owners felons if they sell a firearm or two to family or friends,” Kobach said. “This rule is blatantly unconstitutional. We are suing to defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.”
Kansas was joined by Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody filed A third lawsuit against the DOJ and ATF.
The Biden administration said it had proposed the rules to implement the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” which added background check stipulations and gave grants for states to enact “red flag” laws. The measure, which was backed by 15 Republicans in the Senate and 14 Republicans in the House, was the most expansive gun control law signed into law in decades.
“The challenged rule, in fact, goes far beyond the plain text of the BSCA,” Florida’s suit says. “It purports to force thousands of law-abiding gun owners to register as federal firearms dealers and navigate a federal bureaucracy as a precondition to engaging in constitutionally protected activity. The challenged rule is unlawful.”
