Yesterday, America First Legal (AFL) took a stand for the Second Amendment and against the Biden Administration’s radical attempt to undermine the rule of law.
To advance its radical, anti-Constitutional agenda, the Biden Administration has proposed vague and complex new regulations by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to rewrite gun laws passed by the Congress. This rule would overturn settled court decisions, disrupt five decades of bipartisan administrative practice, and, in the end, use the threat of criminal prosecution to scare Americans and stop them from exercising their Second Amendment right to purchase and use firearms.
In this breathtaking rule, ATF attempts to redefine the term “frame or receiver” to dramatically expand what constitutes a firearm. It does so by introducing a “non-exhaustive” eight-factor test in which ATF does not even tell you how each factor impacts their calculation. This means that even if someone navigates all eight factors correctly, the ATF could add additional factors to determine whether that individual has committed a federal firearms crime.
Laying the groundwork for future action, AFL submitted comments advising ATF:
— The Biden Administration lacks Constitutional and statutory authority for the proposed action.
— The Biden Administration’s justification for this massive regulatory expansion is false.
— Only Congress, not Biden Administration ideologues, can rewrite the Gun Control Act. And were Congress to amend the gun laws, it must do so in a way that does not violate the Second Amendment, which this regulation as written does.
As the Supreme Court has repeatedly said, the freedom to own and carry firearms for self-defense recognized in the Second Amendment is–like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of religion–every American citizen’s fundamental right.
AFL is committed to protecting the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans.
America-First-Legal-Foundation_Comment-on-ATF-Frame-or-Receiver-Proposed-Rule-2021R-05_Final
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