AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a new rule in Texas that would require firearms dealers to conduct background checks on buyers at gun shows or other places outside brick-and-mortar stores.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, came before the rule was set to take effect on Monday. The order also prevents the federal government from enforcing the rule against several gun rights groups, including Gun Owners of America. It does not apply to Louisiana, Mississippi and Utah, which were also part of the lawsuit.
“Plaintiffs are understandably concerned that these suspicions will lead to civil or criminal penalties for conduct that was deemed lawful yesterday,” Kacsmaryk said in his ruling.
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives declined to comment. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits in federal court in Arkansas, Florida and Texas earlier this month seeking to block enforcement of the rule. The plaintiffs argued that the rule violates the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that president Joe Bidena democrat, has no authority to implement it.
The new requirement is the Biden administration’s latest attempt to curb gun violence and aims to close a loophole that allows unlicensed dealers to sell tens of thousands of guns each year without checking that the potential buyer is not legally prohibited from doing so to possess a firearm.
Kacsmaryk wrote that the rule creates suspicions about when someone wants to make a profit and whether a seller is “involved in the business.” He said this is “highly problematic” for several reasons, including because it forces the firearms seller to prove his innocence rather than the government to prove his guilt.
“This ruling is a compelling rebuke of their tyrannical and unconstitutional actions, which deliberately misinterpreted federal law to ensure their desired policy outcome,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, said in a statement Monday.
Biden administration officials proposed the rule in August and it attracted more than 380,000 public comments. It follows the most sweeping gun violence prevention bill in decades, which Biden signed in 2022 after lawmakers reached a bipartisan deal in the wake of the Uvalde Elementary School shooting that left 19 children and two teachers dead two years ago this week.
The rule implements a change to the 2022 law that expands the definition of those who are “engaged in the sale” of firearms must obtain a license from the ATF and therefore complete background checks.
“This will keep guns out of the hands of domestic abusers and criminals,” Biden said in a statement last month. “And my government will continue to do everything it can to save lives. Congress must finish the job and pass universal background checks legislation now.”
Kacsmaryk is the only district court judge in Amarillo – a city in the Texas Panhandle – and ensures that all cases filed there go before him. Since coming to the bench, he has spoken out against the Biden administration on several other issues, including immigration and LGBTQ protections.
