Last week, U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama held that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) exceeded its statutory authority by issuing its 2024 Final Rule expanding the definition of being “engaged in the business” of “dealing in firearms.”

The case, Butler v. Bondi, was brought in July 2024 by the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and two individuals from Alabama, Don Butler and David Glidewell.

The complaint alleged that the Final Rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act because it exceeds the ATF’s statutory and jurisdictional authority and is arbitrary and capricious; violates the Fifth Amendment because it is unconstitutionally vague; violates the Second Amendment by infringing the rights to keep, bear, buy and sell arms; and violates the Separation of Powers, non-delegation doctrine, and Take Care Clause by usurping legislative powers and prohibiting lawful conduct by executive action.

RELATED: NRA, Alabama plaintiffs sue ATF in federal court, defining over rule defining who qualifies as a firearms dealer

While the NRA posted about the ruling, it did not issue a statement. However, when the lawsuit was filed, Randy Kozuch, then-executive director of NRA-ILA, explained, “The ATF’s Final Rule stands to turn countless upstanding and well-intending citizens into criminals for exercising their constitutional rights.”

“When ATF released this Final Rule, NRA promised to use every means necessary to stop this egregious interpretation of the law,” he added. “Now that the Supreme Court’s recent decisions in Loper Bright, Cargill, and Rahimi make clear that the ATF does not have unfettered authority to arbitrarily restrict NRA Members’ rights to buy and sell firearms, the NRA is fighting back.”

The entire original federal lawsuit can be found here.

The judge’s ruling can be found here.

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