FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2024
Washington, D.C. – Earlier this week, Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Garland v. VanDerStok. The case challenges the Biden-Harris frame and receiver rule promulgated by ATF, which classified incomplete and unfinished 80 percent lower receivers, along with build-your-own-firearm kits as “firearms” regulated under the Gun Control Act of 1968. The Tennessee Firearms Association and Virginia Citizens Defense League joined GOA and GOF in filing the brief.
In the brief, GOA argues that:
- Under the law, unfinished precursors of firearms cannot simultaneously be firearms themselves;
- ATF exceeded its lawful authority in the promulgation of this rule;
- And that the Biden-Harris Administration’s ultimate goal with this rule is to force everyone to serialize every firearm they own, which is a necessary step for the ATF to build a comprehensive gun registry.
GOA has been very active in opposing this rule from its conception. First, GOA pushed its grassroots membership to submit thousands of comments to the Federal Register in opposition to the proposal. Then, GOA filed a separate legal challenge to the rule in July 2022, which is currently pending. Finally, GOA’s Federal Affairs team worked hand-in-hand with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to help draft legislation to block the rule via the Congressional Review Act.
Erich Pratt, GOA’s Senior Vice President, issued the following statement:
“We are proud to have been involved in the legal fight against this rule from the beginning, and are thrilled that the Supreme Court is hearing the case. The Biden-Harris ATF is waging war on the Second Amendment, and we can’t allow them to win an inch.”
Sam Paredes, on behalf of the board for GOF, added:
“Despite the temper tantrum from the anti-gun movement about so-called ‘ghost guns,’ Americans have a right to manufacture their own homemade firearms. We have worked closely with our partners in opposition to this rule from the start, and hope that SCOTUS will again make clear the ATF strayed well beyond its legal authority in drafting this rule.”
GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.
-GOA-
