LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Twenty-six Republican attorneys general filed lawsuits Wednesday challenging a new Biden administration rule that requires firearms dealers in the United States to conduct background checks on buyers at gun shows and other locations outside of brick-and-mortar stores. .
The lawsuits filed in federal courts in Arkansas, Florida and Texas seek to block enforcement of the rule announced last month, which aims to close a loophole that has allowed tens of thousands of guns to be sold every year by unlicensed dealers who do not perform security checks. background to ensure that the potential buyer is not legally prohibited from owning a firearm.
The lawsuit argues that the new rule violates the Second Amendment of the US Constitution and that Democratic President Joe Biden does not have the authority to implement it.
“Congress never approved the ATF’s dramatic new expansion of firearms dealer licensing requirements, and President Biden cannot impose them unilaterally,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said in a statement. “This lawsuit is just the latest case where my colleagues in other states have had to remind the president that he must follow the law.”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Justice declined to comment on the lawsuit. Biden administration officials said they are confident the rule, which has drawn more than 380,000 public comments, will withstand lawsuits.
As the 2024 presidential campaign heats up, the lawsuit and the potential court battle that will follow could excite both sides — GOP voters who want fewer restrictions on guns and Democrats who want more restrictions on the types of firearms. fire and access to them.
Biden has made reducing gun violence an important part of his administration and re-election campaign as the country grapples with mass shootings and other escalating killings. He created the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris, and urged Congress to ban so-called assault weapons — a political term to describe a group of high-powered handguns or semi-automatic long rifles, like an AR-15, which can fire 30 shots quickly without reloading. Such a ban was something Democrats shied away from just a few years ago.
Gun control advocates have long pushed to close the so-called gun show loophole and praise the new rule on background checks.
“If we don’t update our national system by closing these gaps, there’s no telling how many more Americans we will lose to gun violence,” said Kris Brown, president of the gun control group Brady. “Brady will do everything in our power to defend this rule because we know it brings us closer to a future free from gun violence.”
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Associated Press writers Alanna Durkin Richer and Colleen Long in Washington contributed to this report.
