This morning, the United States Supreme Court issued an unfavorable ruling in Garland v. VanDerStok (currently known as Bondi v. VanDerStok). The Court, in a 7-2 decision, stated that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) had not exceeded its authority when it advanced a new Rule designed to regulate the private manufacturing of firearms. The Rule, which was proposed and implemented by the Biden Administration in 2022, expanded the definition of “firearms” to include “weapons parts kits” and partially complete “frames” and “receivers” – items private citizens use to build their own firearms at home. In its ruling today, the Supreme Court held that courts may evaluate cases of specific firearms kits and other products (like frames and receivers) on an individual basis to determine whether they qualify as “firearms” and can be so regulated under the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA). Mountain States is disappointed that the Supreme Court did not recognize that the ATF’s 2022 expansion of its own authority was unlawful and not in line with the provisions of the GCA.
The Supreme Court’s ruling today in VanDerStok jeopardizes the time-honored tradition of making one’s own means of self-defense, and sets a dangerous precedent of allowing federal agencies to overstep the regulatory authority our elected representatives in Congress gives them. Our client, Jennifer VanDerStok, is a former law enforcement officer who simply has a hobby of building firearms at her home. Now the ATF might consider her a criminal, turning her passion and hobby into a potential offense.
The majority opinion in VanDerStok was written by Justice Neil Gorsuch. But notably, Justice Gorsuch wrote that the Court’s holding “has limits,” and that the Court was not concluding that ALL firearms parts kits and other similar products count as “firearms” under the GCA. Some, Justice Gorsuch asserted, “may be so incomplete or cumbersome to assemble that they cannot fairly be described as [being] capable of ready conversion” into firearms. Unfortunately, that leaves the law ambiguous for ordinary Americans.
MSLF is disappointed that the Supreme Court missed an important opportunity to keep federal agencies in their own lane and protect the separation of powers. The new precedent the Supreme Court has set creates a negative turning point in firearms regulation and leaves American citizens at the mercy of federal agencies like the ATF.
In the dissenting opinion, Justice Thomas wrote, “The statutory terms ‘frame’ and ‘receiver’ do not cover the unfinished frames and receivers contained in weapon-parts kits, and weapon-parts kits themselves do not meet the statutory definition of ‘firearm.’ That should end the case. The majority instead blesses the Government’s overreach based on a series of errors regarding both the standard of review and the interpretation of the statute. I respectfully dissent.”
Justice Thomas is correct. This ruling sets a precedent that could undermine the constitutional rights of American citizens and creates a landscape that encourages government overreach.
MSLF’s Center to Keep & Bear Arms Director Michael McCoy said, “We are disappointed with the Court’s ruling but not defeated by it. The fight continues on multiple fronts to protect not only our Second Amendment rights but the time honored and critically important principle of separation of powers. The new ATF Director must revisit the vague and restrictive regulations enacted by the Biden-Harris Administration.”
As disappointing as today’s decision is, it is important to remember that a court ruling like this is not the end of the story – especially considering the current political makeup of Washington DC. For example, in February, President Trump issued Executive Order 14206 which commits the Executive Branch to defending Second Amendment-protected rights. Pursuant to this Executive Order, it is our hope that the ATF will ameliorate this negative decision by modifying and/or repealing the 2022 Rule and all of the other similar Biden-Harris regulations enacted by the ATF over the last four years.
