Fifth Circuit Smackdown For Biden
Admin's 'Final Rule' On Receivers

A unanimous decision by a three-judge panel in the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives scrambling back to the proverbial square one after declaring the Final Rule on receivers was illegal because the agency "attempted to take on the mantle of Congress."

Writing for the Court, Circuit Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt, a Donald Trump appointee, observed, "Only Congress may make the deliberate and reasoned decision to enact new or modified legislation regarding firearms based on the important policy concerns put forth by ATF and the various amici here."

Judge Engelhardt was joined by Judges Andrew S. Oldham, who wrote a concurring opinion, and Don Willett. Oldham and Willett are also Trump appointees.

In the ruling, Judge Engelhardt explained that "it is not the province of an executive agency to write laws for our nation. That vital duty, for better or for worse, lies solely with the legislature."

"We are elated with this unanimous court ruling," said Alan Gottlieb, founder and executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, which was allowed to intervene in the case, known as VanDerStok v. Garland. "The ATF clearly exceeded its authority. This is a major victory for gun owners and the rule of law."

He wraps up his 28-page decision noting, "But unless and until Congress so acts to expand or alter the language of the Gun Control Act, ATF must operate within the statutory text's existing limits. .....