Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin co-leading 21-state lawsuit challenging ATF on new gun show loophole rule

Alex Kienlen
·2 min read
19

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas is joining a lawsuit with 20 other states against a recent ATF rule change intended to close what has been labeled a loophole.

Arkansas Attorney General Griffin said Wednesday that he is co-leading with Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on behalf of 19 other states in filing a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The suit maintains that the recently changed rule regarding licensing for firearms sellers is illegal and unconstitutional.

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The rule, finalized on April 11, requires anyone who sells firearms predominantly to earn a profit to become federally licensed and conduct background checks, including those selling at gun shows. Previously the licensing requirement tended to be more focused on sellers with an established retail operation rather than those without a business license who sold at shows.

The lawsuit was filed in the Eastern District of Arkansas federal court and maintains that the rule change is wrong by changing a long-standing precedent, not going through Congress and is too far-reaching in its impact. It asks the court to declare the new rule unlawful.

The attorney general said the rule changed a policy that had been long-standing.

“Federal law has defined who is a firearms dealer since 1938,” Griffin said. “In every iteration of that definition, private collectors and hobbyists were not included and, in many cases, were specifically exempted from that definition.”

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The lawsuit states that the loophole is a matter of supporting the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

Griffin said that by not going through Congress with its law-making role, the ATF and in turn the Biden administration are breaking the law.

“In 2021, President Biden instructed his government to curtail gun rights ‘without having to go through’ Congress,” Griffin said. “The ATF’s new rule is the latest manifestation of the President’s desire to govern by fiat without consideration of the constitutional rights of Americans.”

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The attorney general added that the lawsuit reminds the president to follow the law.

Finally, Griffin pointed out the broadness of the rule change with its “engaged in business” requirement, meaning that a person selling even a single gun may need a federal firearms license.

The lawsuit states an over-broad definition of engaged in business violates federal law.

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Along with Arkansas and Kansas, other states listed as plaintiffs are Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.

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