Texas and a group of gun rights organizations won a legal victory on Sunday after a federal judge temporarily blocked a gun control rule from the Biden administration regulating private firearm sales.
Federal Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk said that the Biden administration could not implement a policy against Texas or members of multiple gun rights groups that 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.
In his 14-page ruling, Kacsmaryk said that the rule likely violates the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) and was not in alignment with the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act,” (BSCA) which the Justice Department cited in its justifications for implementing the policy. He said that because of this determination, evaluating the other arguments made against the rule was unnecessary.
“Plaintiffs understandably fear that these presumptions will trigger civil or criminal penalties for conduct deemed lawful just yesterday,” the judge wrote. “Other Plaintiffs face both civil and criminal enforcement actions for engaging in conduct that the BSCA permits but the Final Rule impermissibly forbids.”
The decision applies to Texas, the Gun Owners of America, the Gun Owners Foundation, the Tennessee Firearms Association, and the Virginia Citizens Defense League. The judge ruled that Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah failed to demonstrate standing and did not issue the temporary injunction in their favor.
Republicans have argued that the regulations 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.
“I am relieved that we were able to secure a restraining order that will prevent this illegal rule from taking effect,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in response to the ruling. “The Biden Administration cannot unilaterally overturn Americans’ constitutional rights and nullify the Second Amendment.”
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Gun Owners of America President Erich Pratt praised the decision.
“President Biden and his anti-gun administration have aggressively pursued an agenda meant to harass, intimidate, and criminalize gun owners and dealers at every turn,” he said. “This ruling is a compelling rebuke of their tyrannical and unconstitutional actions that purposely misinterpreted federal law to ensure their preferred policy outcome.”
The rule broadly goes into effect on Monday after it faced a flurry of lawsuits. For Texas and the gun rights groups, the rule will be on hold until June 2, pending further litigation.