He ruled that the agency violated the Administrative Procedures Act in reclassifying the stabilizing braces.
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor vacated the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) final rule that categorized pistols with stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles.
The judge stated that, for a decade, the ATF had operated under the conclusion that “attaching the brace to a firearm does not alter the classification of the firearm or subject the firearm to [National Firearm Act] control.” He found that the ATF offered no explanation for the reclassifications and there is no “meaningful clarity about what constitutes an impermissible stabilizing brace.”
Judge O’Connor wrote, “The Final Rule violated the Administrative Procedure Act’s procedural requirements because it was arbitrary and capricious and was not a logical outgrowth of the Proposed Rule.“ He also called the rule “impermissibly vague.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For judges in the circuit courts as they consider appeals to district court rulings.
- For wisdom for federal judges at every level of the judiciary as they are called on to decide constitutional cases.
- For ATF officials to follow the federal administrative laws as they seek to restrict Second Amendment rights.
Sources: Court Listener, Bearing Arms, Right Scoop
