ATF Might Have Just Given Out 1000’s Of Free Tax Stamps For No Reason

Red Wave of the National Rifle Association
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WICHITA FALLS, Texas – The three-judge panel from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals clarified its ruling in Mock v. Garland.

The case is a lawsuit brought by the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) challenging the Bureau of Alcohol Firearms and Tobacco (ATF) new rule restricting the use of pistol stabilizing devices on pistols. Under the ATF rule, firearms owners would have to remove the brace and render it impossible to reinstall, turn in the firearm to the ATF, or register the gun as a short-barreled rifle (SBR).

FPC sued the ATF, claiming that the organization violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and the rule of lenity. A District Judge ruled against FPC and found for the defendant. FPC immediately appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, asking the court to step in and issue an injunction against the new ATF rule. A three-judge panel decided that the gun rights organization was likely to succeed on the merits of the case and its plaintiffs would suffer irreparable harm if the rule against braced pistols were allowed to go into effect.

The 5th court issued a limited injunction against the enforcement of the new pistol brace regulation.

The injunction was limited to the “plaintiffs” in the case. FPC filed a motion asking the court to clarify its ruling.

The group wanted to know if the injunction extended to the membership of the organization and the customers of Co Plaintiff, Maxim Defense Industries. Justice Department lawyers filed a motion in opposition to the motion for clarity. They claim the ruling was clear and only extended to the named plaintiffs, not the FPC membership or Maxim Defense’s customers. The original date of clarification was set to be June 2, 2023, but the rule was due to kick in on June 1.

The court went ahead and issued the clarification on Friday, stating that the injunction did apply to all members of FPC and all customers of Maxim Defense. FPC claims that it even applies to new members. The ATF rule gave FPC a massive boost to its membership list. With other rulings coming down the pipe, the ATF rule might be Second Amendment groups’ biggest fundraising boost in history.

“This clarification is granted essentially for the reasons concisely set forth in the May 25, 2023, Plaintiffs-Appellants’ Reply to Their Opposed Motion for Clarification of Injunction Pending Appeal. There, the appellants acknowledge that ‘[a]lthough a nationwide injunction would have functionally addressed the question of scope, on which Plaintiffs now seek clarity, Plaintiffs understand that one was not given . . . . Instead, Plaintiffs merely request clarification on whether their reading of the term ‘Plaintiffs’ to include the customers and members whose interests Plaintiffs Maxim Defense and Firearms Policy Coalition (‘FPC’) have represented since day one of this litigation is correct,’” the motion reads.

“That reading is correct. Also as requested, the term ‘Plaintiffs in this case’ includes the individual plaintiffs’ resident family members,” the motion continued.

In Realed Challenges

Thursday, May 25th, 2023, the judge in the Second Amendment Foundation’s (SAF) challenge to the same rule issued an injunction to the named plaintiffs in the case. SAF could theoretically go back and ask the judge to expand that injunction to all members of the organization due to the clarification from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The judge in the Gun Owners of America (GOA) case Texas v. ATF held a status conference yesterday with the parties to discuss the Circuit Court’s ruling in Mock v. Garland. The judge wanted both sides’ take on the Circuit Court’s meaning in enjoining the new rule. Both parties are due to submit briefs by noon on Tuesday of the coming week and respond to each other’s briefs by noon on Wednesday. The judge plans on deciding on an injunction on Wednesday. It seems like the judge is inclined to mirror whatever the Circuit Court decides. That would mean the GOA membership and residents of Texas would also be protected from the rule.

The Firearms Accountability Regulatory Coalition (FRAC), which includes SB Tactical, has a case pending in North Dakota, which is part of the Sixth Circuit. The plaintiffs have referenced the Fifth Circuit Court’s decision in Mock v. Garland and asked the court to issue relief. It isn’t clear what the judge will do in that case. There is also a new case out of Florida in the Eleventh Circuit, which was just filed this week.

The rule regarding pistol stabilizing devices seems to be in peril.

With FPC getting an injunction for its members and GOA appearing to be on the verge of getting the same relief, millions of Americans will be protected from ATF overreach. If SAF asks for the same protection and gets it, it would mean three of the most prominent gun rights organizations’ members will be shielded.

If FRAC can get the same relief, most pistol brace owners will be covered from ATF enforcement actions since the case includes SB Tactical, the biggest manufacturer and seller of pistol stabilizing devices. Also, the lawsuit includes 24 states, so the judge could enjoin the rule for everyone in those states. If the tide keeps going in favor of the plaintiffs, the ATF might have just given out thousands of free tax stamps for no reason.

The new rule on pistol stabilizing devices will go into effect on June 1, 2023, unless a nationwide injunction is issued.


About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

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Hazcat

Yeah, I’ll not be registering any of my firearms. Lists lead to bad things.

2AGunster

Registration leads to Confiscation!

Colt

unless you only own 80 percent guns.. you probably already are on a list. I can think of 4 gun shops that I’ve bought from (off hand) that are no longer in business. Who has those completed 4473 records? The ATF. The ATF admits they have 920,664,765 OBR records. If you have a CWP, you’re on a list, hunter.. on a list. any contact with law enforcement, a list, bought a gun with a FFL or 4473, on a list. I don’t want to live my life in fear of a list. I regularly take my NFA’s to the range… Read more »

Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

I was just reading some interesting old documents and I think I found the nation wide injuction embedded within it…

Last edited 9 months ago by Courageous Lion - Hear Me Roar - Jus Meum Tuebor

Get that to win in a court of law.
Till then it’s worthless.
Oops, nobody has won with it.

Tank

As civil rulers, not having their duty to the people before them, may attempt to tyrannize, and as the military forces which must be occasionally raised to defend our country, might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens, the people are confirmed by the article in their right to keep and bear their private arms.” (Tench Coxe in ‘Remarks on the First Part of the Amendments to the Federal Constitution’ under the Pseudonym ‘A Pennsylvanian’ in the Philadelphia Federal Gazette, June 18, 1789 at 2 col. 1) “Who are the militia? Are they not ourselves? Is it… Read more »

Dean Weingarten

Thousands of free tax stamps cost the ATF almost nothing… except for credibility and political viability…

totbs

It did however, cost the citizens that bowed to this latest ATF threat, another slice of their freedom. They’re now registered on another government’s “target” list.

Roland T. Gunner

And a bargain at that price.

Bill

How does limiting this injunction only to the plaintiffs, even as an extended group, pretend to give equal protection under the law? Okay, the ban doesn’t touch you for now, but it compels the rest of society? That sounds like huge discrimination to me! Anyone want to start with Jurisprudence 101?

PMinFl

I saw that same “stock image” last year, before the midterm elections. I hope the red RIPPLE doesn’t happen again. Fool me once…

Mikial

The FPC, the GOA, the NAGR, even the USCCA are all fighting tooth and nail to defend our rights. I’m a member of all of them. I’m also a member of the NRA, and I have to ask…where is the NRA in all of this? I get several emails every week from everyone except the NRA with calls to action on one 2A related issue or another. The same in my mailbox. They keep me up on bills and issues and provide email and Fax texts to send. They even provide post cards. But all I ever get from the… Read more »

ruffhouse

Sure looks like WLP is letting everyone else do all the heavy lifting. My NRA membership expires this summer, and that’s gonna be the end of our association.

Logician

But… the enforcement of these unconstitutional and therefore unlawful decrees is done via the completely corrupted legal system!! How can a bunch of criminals tell honest people what they can and cannot do?!?! PLEASE show me when, where, how and why men and women obtain any amount of legitimate power and authority over others by committing crimes against them! Crimes such as fraud, theft, kidnapping, murder and depriving people of their ability to defend themselves! How is there any real justice in the legal system, when it’s nothing but a bunch of criminals?

John

Congress is the culprit for abdicating their responsibilities to unelected servants running regulatory agencies, from ATF, EPA and legions of other agencies, now making up the fourth branch of government. I understand the legal system has failed in many ways to stop these agencies in there overreach – however recently we see that changing – so to say the legal system is corrupt fails to recognize the rulings against bump stock seizures, and now braces. Recently the Supreme Court shut down the EPAs warped overreach with respect to the clean water act. Congress hides behind these agencies as was there… Read more »

Logician

Oh, so the spouse or child abuser didn’t hit as hard as before, or as often, and that then means they are no longer committing abuse?!?! Is that how it works? If you were to read some of my papers about the crimes the legal system commits as a normal course of its business model, you wouldn’t be quite so willing to defend its Agents, Operators, Actors or Officers. To see the criminality of the legal system, just do this. Look up the definitions of the words Contract and Fraud in any law dictionary of your choosing, get to know… Read more »

RichDD

The registration is real.

KK

No Reason???

“FREE TAX STAMPS” = REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION is the necessary requirement to facilitate CONFISCATION
(It serves NO other purpose)

Last edited 9 months ago by KK
PMinFl

Re: the title… “for no good reason” ? How about a registry?

Knute Knute

For NO reason? It boosted the FPCs membership, big time. I call that a great reason! 🙂
The BATF*rs got bitten by the ‘unintended’ consequences they thought to use on us. Gotta like THAT! It might be ironic, but I’d rather call it: poetic justice!

Last edited 9 months ago by Knute Knute
Marc

Two questions as the rule is called into question:

Do these Fifth Circuit rulings have impact for FPC members that reside outside the Fifth Federal Judicial Circuit? Typically, these rulings only apply to the geographic limits of these circuit courts, not the entire nation.

Also, when the special Form1 which forbears the $200 tax is processed it contains the phrases:

“APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS – SEE CONDITIONS ON THE LAST PAGE OF PDF”

“Pursuant to ATF Final Rule 2021R-08F”

As these lawsuits work their way through the courts, will the special Form 1 approvals be invalidated?

Bigfootbob

Mr. Crump, any idea just how many “thousands” of tax stamps did the the ATF issue because of the brace rule? There’s millions of braces out there.

JH1961

Last I read, approximately 100,000 applicactions for such Tax Stsmps had been received by the ATF.

Knute Knute

I hadn’t heard that. 100K out of the 44M existing braces means that less than 0.25 percent fell for this trap. 100,00/44000000=0.0023, or 0.23%. If a trapper caught less than one animal per 400 traps set, no one would ever trap!
BATF*rs fail miserably yet again! 🙂

Last edited 9 months ago by Knute Knute
Arny

That’s assuming the number they put out is even true. As we have seen in the past how they like to lie about numbers. lol

Roland T. Gunner

The ATF has not issued ANY stamps.

Last edited 9 months ago by Roland T. Gunner
Vinbro

If the courts overturn the rule, does that mean that the Form 1 “free tax stamps” to turn the pistol into an SBR are no longer valid?

Trussman

I fear that those people that registered theirs may have just put themselves on the next come and take ’em registration list, if the powers that be change their mind again. Glad I never got into AR or AK pistols. I always thought they were a waste of ballistics, with a great big fireball. The bigger the flash the more inefficient. Don’t get me wrong, if those things are your jam, you should be allowed to enjoy them and I support that right 100%, in voice and charity. I just don’t see how that a judge/judges won’t shut them down,… Read more »

John

Is wasn’t free because those who filed for the stamp over a piece of plastic are now in a data base. The overreach by the ATF is far past alarming. They are losing on bump stocks, a piece of plastic, now on the braces, and soon their quest for FRTs to be surrendered or destroyed will as well fail, notwithstanding their threats of criminal prosecution. Historical Tradition and strict scrutiny commands such. Hell if ATF was around during the days of the Gatling Gun, they would ban that too! Is anyone aware for example suppressors where thrown in the NFA… Read more »

Bubba

I really don’t know why no one has sued the ATF for under the Americans with disabilities act for the pistol braces. That was the initial design for them to begin with.