Amarillo judge blocks Biden administration expansion of gun sales background checks

A federal judge in Amarillo has blocked a new Biden administration rule requiring gun dealers to run background checks on buyers at gun shows and elsewhere from being enforced in Texas.

U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk issued the ruling Sunday before the new rule — which would have required firearms dealers to conduct background checks on buyers in situations outside of traditional brick-and-mortar gun stores, such as at gun shows — was to go into effect Monday.

Republican attorneys general from 26 states filed suit in federal court earlier this month aiming to block the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives rule, arguing it violates the Second Amendment.

The ruling does not apply in Louisiana, Mississippi or Utah, which were part of the specific suit with Texas.

The Biden administration proposed the rule in August in an effort to "close a loophole" that allows unlicensed gun dealers to sell to people who are prohibited from owning a firearm, the Associated Press reported.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Amarillo judge blocks Biden expansion of gun sales background checks