Brian Abbas, director for MSLF’s Center to Keep & Bear Arms (CKBA), recently returned from New Orleans, Louisiana, where Mountain States’ case, VanDerStok v. Garland, was argued before the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. CKBA has been working this case for Jennifer VanDerStok, Mike Andren, Tactical Machining, Firearm Policy Coalition, and every American for over a year now. The case centers around the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and its illegal attempt to redefine non-firearms objects as firearms, and thus circumvent the law and our constitutionally protected rights.
Mountain States’ co-counsel in Cooper & Kirk were exceptional in oral argument, addressing the panel of three federal judges clearly and confidently. The court seemed quite favorable to the cause of our clients, seeing the ATF’s blatant attempts to undermine the Constitution for exactly what it was. The judges grilled into the government, indicating they saw the unlawful regulation as nothing other than a clear violation of congressional authority. Their questions demonstrated the panel was well-versed in the law and technical aspects of the case, including the definition of “firearms.”
The best the ATF’s lawyers could do was expose the duality of their regulation and the faulty legal logic used to justify it.
Mr. Abbas said, “I’m always hesitant to predict how judges will rule, as they can surprise you. However, I am very confident that the Fifth Circuit will decide favorably for Jennifer, Mike, Tactical Machining, and FPC. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 3-0 ruling for Mountain States!”
Of course, it is also expected that the government will waste the court’s time and the taxpayers’ money on an appeal to the Supreme Court. Given how the Court ruled in 2022 to resoundingly uphold the Second Amendment and curb regulatory agency overreach, you can bet that Mountain States will be ready to win at the highest court in the land, too.
Until then, we’ll remain vigilant on this and every other issue that threatens the natural right to keep and bear arms. Mountain States and the Center stand ready to defend that right to the end.
