Today, our firm filed the Reply Brief of the Private Appellants in the appeal of the denial of a preliminary injunction against the Biden Administration’s ATF rulemaking on frames and receivers in the Eighth Circuit.
Morehouse v. ATF — Appellants’ Opening Brief
Today, our firm filed in the Eight Circuit the Opening Brief of the Private Appellants in the challenge to the Biden Administration’s ATF rulemaking on frames and receivers challenging the denial of a preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota.
Cargill v. Garland — Supplemental Amicus Brief on Rehearing En Banc
Today, our firm file a supplemental amicus brief for the Fifth Circuit’s rehearing en banc of a challenge to the ATF’s bump stock rule. (We previously file an amicus brief in support of the petition for rehearing en banc.) Our brief argued that the bump stock rule was politically motivated and that bump
Cargill v. Garland — Amicus Brief
Today, our firm filed an amicus brief in support of a petition for rehearing en banc in a case challenging the bump stock ban. Our brief explained that bump stocks do not convert a semiautomatic firearm into a machinegun, and that only Congress has the power to amend the text of statutes. Finally, we explained that the district court’s and the court of appeals panel’s conclusions contradicted
Article: “Full Sixth Circuit takes up legality of bump stocks”
Courthouse News Service has this article on the Sixth Circuit’s en banc oral argument in the bump stocks case.
Rob Olson Presents Oral Argument before En Banc Sixth Circuit in Bumpstock Case
Today, Rob Olson presented oral argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit sitting en banc in our continuing litigation against ATF’s bump stock regulation issued in December 2018. The Sixth Circuit granted rehearing en banc after a three-judge panel ruled against the bump stock ban earlier this year. Audio of the oral argument is available.
Bump Stocks: Gun Owners of America v. Barr — Reply Brief
Today we filed our reply brief in the Sixth Circuit challenge to the ATF bumpstock regulations brought by Gun Owners of America. The issue is the district court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the ATF from declaring bump stocks contraband, by classifying them as machine guns.
Bump Stocks: Gun Owners of America v. Barr — Brief for Appellants
Today we filed our opening brief in the Sixth Circuit case of Gun Owners of America v. Barr — challenging the district court’s refusal to issue a preliminary injunction to stop the ATF total ban on the private ownership of bump stocks.
Bump Stocks: Reply Brief on Emergency Motion in SCOTUS
The Supreme Court allowed us to file a reply to the government’s opposition to our motion for an emergency stay of the ATF bump stock ban, which we filed at noon today.
Bump Stocks: Emergency Application for Stay by SCOTUS Pending Appellate Review
Today our firm filed an emergency application for stay with the U.S. Supreme Court (directed to Justice Sotomayor, Circuit Justice for the Sixth Circuit), requesting that the Court stay the effective date of the ATF’s Final Rule banning bump stocks pending review of the case by the Sixth Circuit.
Bump Stocks: GOA Files 28(j) Letter in Sixth Circuit
Today our firm filed a 28(j) letter with the Sixth Circuit, citing additional information in the D.C. Circuit cases of Guedes and Codrea. We point out that although the courts have issued stays in these and similar cases, the stays only apply to the specific appellants in each case, and do not grant the nationwide relief to bump stock owners being sought by Gun Owners of America, et al.
Bump Stocks: GOA Replies to Government Opposition
At 5:00 today, the Justice Department opposed our petition for emergency relief in the Sixth Circuit. At 10:30 tonight, we filed our reply to their opposition. The Sixth Circuit granted leave to file our reply brief.
Bump Stocks: Emergency Petition for Writ of Mandamus Filed in Sixth Circuit
The ATF reclassification of bump stocks as machineguns will take effect on Tuesday, March 26. The federal district court in which we challenged this classification change has yet to rule on our motion for an injunction. Therefore, we were forced to file this emergency petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.
Article: NPR Reports on GOA Bump Stock Litigation
National Public Radio ran a story about the Trump Administration’s regulation to ban bump stocks, and the legal challenge we filed for Gun Owners of America, in which Rob Olson of our firm was interviewed.
Jeremy Kettler v. United States
Today, we filed a Petition for Certiorari on behalf of Jeremy Kettler, who was convicted of possessing an unregistered firearm suppressor. Our petition asks the Supreme Court to review the Tenth Circuit’s decision, and to determine whether the National Firearms Act continues to be an appropriate exercise of Congress’s taxing power due to the many changes that have been made to the
Comments to ATF Opposing Bump Stock Restrictions (Round 2)
Today we submitted another set of comments to ATF opposing its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking which would reverse long-standing ATF policy to determine, in violation of federal law, that a “bump fire” stock constitutes a “machinegun.” Our comments were filed on behalf of Gun Owners Foundation. Earlier, on January 18, 2018, we filed comments for GOF on the ATF’s Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.
United States v. Kettler — Oral Argument
Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit held oral argument on the Kettler case. Our co-counsel in the case, Joe Miller, presented oral argument for Mr. Cox. The panel hearing the appeal consisted of Judges Hartz, Seymour and Phillips.
The oral argument my be listened to here.
United States v. Kettler — Reply Brief
Today, we filed a reply brief responding to the Government’s brief in opposition on behalf of Jeremy Kettler. Mr. Kettler was convicted in federal district court of possessing a firearm noise suppressor that was not registered to him pursuant to the National Firearms Act (“NFA”). Read our previous discussion of the case and opening brief here.
United States v. Kettler
Today, we filed a brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit as co-counsel for the defendant, Jeremy Kettler. Mr. Kettler was convicted in federal district court of possessing a firearm noise suppressor that was not registered to him pursuant to the National Firearms Act (“NFA”).
In purchasing his suppressor, Mr. Kettler had relied on the Kansas Second Amendment Protection Act which
Article: CNN Politics on Guns and the Campaign for the Presidency
CNN’s article about the Second Amendment in Presidential politics discusses our work for Gun Owners of America.
Article: Federal Machine-Gun Ban Under Legal Challenge
In an article on Christmas Eve, Bob Unruh of World Net Daily covered our amicus brief for Gun Owners of America and others opposing the broad federal ban on most machine gun ownership.
Watson v. United States
Today we filed our second brief in as many months explaining why fully automatic weapons (termed in federal law “machine guns”) are protected “arms” under the Second Amendment — in the Third Circuit. The earlier brief was Hollis v. Lynch, filed on November 2, 2015 — in the Fifth Circuit.
Ammoland covers our Hollis and Watson Briefs
This discusses our brief for Gun Owners of America and The Heller Foundation supporting the right to own fully automatic weapons.
Hollis v. Lynch — Amicus Brief
Today, our firm filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit an amicus brief in support of a challenge to the federal machine gun ban, ironically passed as part of the 1986 Firearm Owners Protection Act.
Under the Gun Control Act (“GCA”), “persons” are generally prohibited from possessing machineguns. A “person” is defined to include entities such a
David R. Olofson — Petition for Certiorari filed
Today, our firm filed a Petition for Certiorari with the U.S. Supreme Court, on behalf of Army Reservist David Olofson, urging the Court to grant Certiorari to review the Seventh Circuit decision affirming Olofson’s conviction. The Petition was docketed on August 31, 2009. Amicus briefs are due by September 30, 2009.
Olofson was sentenced to prison for 30 months for transferring a “machine