BELLEVUE, WA – The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the petition for a writ of certiorari in the case of Garland v. VanDerStok, which challenges the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “Final Rule” which considers frames and receivers to be firearms.
The case dates back to April 2022 when the ATF published its “Final Rule” changing the regulatory definition of the term “firearm,” to encompass objects which are not firearms, along with firearms parts kits, in direct contradiction of Congress’ definition of those terms found in the Gun Control Act of 1968. In December 2022, the Second Amendment Foundation and Defense Distributed filed an intervenor’s complaint in an existing lawsuit being litigated in the Northern District of Texas.
“We are delighted that the Court has agreed to hear our challenge to ATF’s frames and receivers Final Rule,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “ATF has continuously exceeded its constitutional authority and violated the separation of powers by creating law – a job reserved exclusively for Congress. It is time for the Supreme Court to remind ATF that it may not do so and affirm the judgment of the Fifth Circuit.”
“This case typifies the Biden administration’s war on the Second Amendment,” added SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Clearly under Joe Biden, the ATF has unilaterally set itself up as the sole authority on firearms regulation, bypassing Congress and arbitrarily changing long-standing regulations to suit the administration’s anti-gun agenda.”