Today, the United States Supreme Court granted review in Attorney General Merrick B. Garland v. Jennifer VanDerStok, a Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s “frame or receiver” rule implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). As a result, the high court will decide the fate of the rule in its upcoming October 2024 term.
“FPC and our members look forward to the end of President Biden’s unconstitutional and abusive rule. We are delighted that the Supreme Court will hear our case and decide this important issue once and for all,” said FPC founder and President Brandon Combs. “The Fifth Circuit’s decision in our case was correct and now that victory can be applied to the entire country.”
“This is an important day for the entire liberty movement. By agreeing to hear our case, the Supreme Court will have the opportunity to put ATF firmly in its place and stop the agency from unconstitutionally expanding its gun control agenda. We look forward to addressing this unlawful rule in the Court’s next term,” said FPC Action Foundation President Cody J. Wisniewski, counsel for Plaintiffs.
Last November, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals held that portions of ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule are unlawful. This February, the federal government filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari, asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case, arguing the Fifth Circuit wrongly ruled on FPC and FPCAF’s favor. FPC and FPCAF disagreed with the government’s reasoning but agreed the Supreme Court should hear the case to ensure that a final decision could be applied across the United States.
Plaintiffs in FPC’s VanDerStok case include FPC, two individual FPC members, and Tactical Machining, LLC. The parties are represented at the Supreme Court by Cooper & Kirk, Mountain States Legal Foundation, and FPCAF.
The Second Amendment Foundation responded:
The U.S. Supreme Court has granted the petition for a write 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.”
Second Amendment Foundation
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit membership organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. For more on FPC’s lawsuits and other pro-Second Amendment initiatives, visit FPCLegal.org and follow FPC on Instagram, X (Twitter), Facebook, and YouTube.
FPC Action Foundation (FPCActionFoundation.org), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty through charitable legal action, public policy, education, and research programs.
FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s first and largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.
