On June 11, 2024, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, issued a preliminary injunction against the ATF’s enforcement of its “engaged in business” rule. The preliminary injunction protects individuals in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah, as well as the members of Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, Tennessee…
Tag Archives: TFF
Federal Court issues Temporary Restraining Order against ATF from enforcing “engaged in business rule”
On May 1, 2024, Tennessee Firearms Association, on behalf of its members, filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Texas as a co-plaintiff with the States of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation, the Virginia Citizens Defense League and Jeffrey Tormey. On May 19, 2024, Judge Matthew J.…
Tennessee Court of Appeals holds that TWRA unconstitutionally trespassed on private property
In a decision released on May 9, 2024, in the matter of Terry Rainwaters, et al. v. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, et al., No: W2022-00514-COA-R3-CV, the Tennessee Court of Appeals held that a Tennessee statute (enacted by the Tennessee Legislature) on which the TWRA relied for its warrantless searches is unconstitutional as applied. That decision…
Tennessee Firearms Association sues ATF over the new “engaged in the business” rule
On May 1, 2024, the Tennessee Firearms Association had the honor to join the States of Texas (lead plaintiff), the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah, Jeffrey Tormey, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and the Virginia Citizens Defense League in a lawsuit filed in the Northern District of Texas against the Bureau of…
Paul Harvey addressed gun control with truth that resonates today in Tennessee.
On April 9, 2023, Rep. Monty Fritts presented House Bill 2082, as amended, to the Tennessee House’s Civil Justice Committee. The bill passed in that committee with the House Amendment which is slightly different than the amendment adopted in the Senate Judiciary on Sen. Joey Hensley‘s companion bill, SB2502. The slight difference in the two…
TFA’s Federal Litigation Update
In the last few years, Tennessee Firearms Association and, since early 2023, Tennessee Firearms Foundation (www.tennesseefirearmsfoundation.org) have increasingly engaged in federal and state litigation. First, let’s address the question of why. Tennessee Firearms Association has now been in existence for approximately 29 years. We have worked hard, as a grassroots organization, on efforts to get…
TFA, TFF, GOA and VCDL file joint comments to oppose ATF’s proposed “engaged in business” rule
On September 8, 2023, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) published a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” in the Federal Register, entitled “Definition of Engaged in the Business as a Dealer in Firearms,” 2022R-17, 88 FR 61993 (“NPRM”). ATF sought public comment on its proposal by December 7, 2023. TFA coordinated with Gun…
TFA and GOA file Amicus Brief in Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging ATF’s “Frame and Receiver” rule.
On August 25, 2023, Tennessee Firearms Association joined again with Gun Owners of America in the effort to defeat the ATF’s unconstitutional expansion of the Congressional definition of a “frame or receiver”. The brief was filed in the case of Jennifer VanDerStok, et al. v. Merrick Garland, et. al. Fifth Circuit 23:10718. The issue in…
Federal Court “vacates” ATF new rule redefining a “frame or receiver”
A federal district judge in Texas ruled on June 30, 2023, that the ATF’s administrative rule which substantially expanded the Congressional phrase “frame or receiver” was unconstitutional and “vacated” the rule. See, Vanderstok, et al. v. Blackhawk Manufacturing Group, et al. v. Merrick Garland, et al. 4:22-cv-00691-O (N. D. Texas June 30, 2023). The ATF’s…