DOJ won't drop defense of Biden-era ATF 'engaged in the business' rule
President Donald Trump issued an executive order instructing the Department of Justice to review any case that might affect the Second Amendment. One such case was a lawsuit challenging the ATF “engaged in the business” rule, which requires almost anyone selling a gun to get a federal firearms license (FFL).
During the Joe Biden presidential administration, Democrats pushed for universal background checks for all gun transfers. The resistance prevented such a law from being passed in Congress. Because of the repeated failures, the executive branch ordered the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to redefine what it means to be a gun dealer. The White House and the ATF claimed they could make the changes because of the John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut) master-minded Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.
The new rule states that if a person makes money from the sale of a firearm, they must have an FFL. Moreover, if they used a spreadsheet or other tracking software to keep track of their guns, they would also require an FFL to transfer a firearm. If someone sold a gun to help pay for rent, they would need an FFL. Selling as little as a single gun could make someone a gun dealer. The idea was to squeeze as many potential transfers as possible under the new rule. Many gun rights activists viewed the ATF rule as backdoor universal background checks, essentially side-stepping Congress to make a de facto law.
After the rule was unveiled, Gun Owners of America, the Virginia Citizens Defense League, the Tennessee Firearms Association, and the state of Texas sued in a Texas federal district court to block the implementation of the law. A district court judge granted a preliminary injunction for the lawsuit members, including all members of the plaintiffs’ organizations. The DOJ requested a pause in the case to review potential Second Amendment implications. Many saw this as a positive step, thinking that the DOJ would drop its defense.
Now we know the result of the pause. The DOJ is prepared to defend the ATF’s “engaged in the business” rule despite the president’s executive order on Second Amendment cases. The Justice Department did not modify its defense; instead, it chose to defend all the original arguments laid down by the Biden-era DOJ.
Instead of being more Second Amendment-friendly, Attorney General Pam Bondi’s department seems to have doubled down on an anti-gun regime’s reasoning. Many gun owners who showed up to vote for President Trump are disappointed in the DOJ’s actions.
Instead of keeping its promise of defending the Second Amendment rights of the people, the DOJ is operating business as usual, which many see as a weaponization of government against law-abiding Americans’ right to keep and bear arms.
Ammoland News reached out to the DOJ and the White House for comment, but our request has not been returned as of the time of this writing.
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