JUSTICE: Biden loses ‘ghost gun’ case, ATF ban ‘unlawful.’
In another blow to President Joe Biden’s war on guns, a federal judge has reversed an ATF ban on so-called “ghost guns,” ruling that the president and his gun agency overstepped their jurisdiction.
On Friday, Texas-based United States District Court Judge Reed O’Connor said that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives went further than Congress in banning the partially made guns.
“This case presents the question of whether the federal government may lawfully regulate partially manufactured firearm components, related firearm products, and other tools and materials in keeping with the Gun Control Act of 1968,” wrote O’Connor. “Because the court concludes that the government cannot regulate those items without violating federal law, the court holds that the government’s recently enacted final rule … is unlawful agency action taken in excess of the ATF’s statutory jurisdiction. On this basis, the court vacates the final rule.”
The ruling is likely to be appealed by Justice. It follows on the lifting of a ban on so-called “bump stocks” and signals trouble for the administration’s latest effort to ban AR-style pistols that use an adjustable brace.
Good.