Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Executive Branch Overreach

Saturday, June 29, 2024

Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Executive Branch Overreach

On Friday, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and overturned Chevron U. S. A. Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc. While the Loper Bright case dealt with the federal government’s regulation of commercial herring fishing, overruling the Court’s Chevron decision will have far reaching consequences for federal firearm regulations.

Before Friday, under so-called “Chevron deference” federal courts have deferred to any “permissible” reading of a federal statute made by a federal agency if the court determined that the intent of Congress under the statute was unclear. This rule led federal courts to uphold many federal regulations that bore little resemblance to the statutes they were supposedly implementing.

It is also antithetical to America’s constitutional structure for an executive branch agency to be given the power to create binding interpretations of the laws they are charged with enforcing. As Chief Justice Roberts put it in the Court’s majority opinion, “[t]he Framers … envisioned that the final ‘interpretation of the laws’ would be ‘the proper and peculiar province of the courts.’”

In recent years most federal gun control has been created through regulations implemented by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”). This includes ATF’s treatment of all pistols with attached stabilizing braces as short-barreled rifles, ATF’s redefinition of the term “frame or receiver” to effectively ban parts used by hobbyist gun builders, and ATF’s attempt to expand who must be licensed as a gun dealer before selling firearms.

Thanks to the Court’s decision to reject Chevron deference, all of these ATF rules are now on very questionable legal footing.

In fact, the Court’s decision to depart from agency deference has already played a role in the invalidation of a federal firearm regulation. When the Court rejected ATF’s ban on bump fire stocks two weeks ago, it notably did not give any deference to ATF’s interpretation of the term “machinegun.” Many Court watchers (correctly) assumed this meant the Court would be overturing or limiting Chevron when it released its decision in Loper Bright.

Gun owners, and all freedom-loving Americans, should look forward to a future where our liberties are (at least a little) less subject to the whims of unelected federal bureaucrats.

TRENDING NOW
Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

News  

Monday, February 24, 2025

Court Dismisses “Lawfare” Claims Against Maryland Gun Dealers

“Lawfare” is the misuse of the legal system to damage political or business opponents, either through frivolous lawsuits in which the cost of defending becomes too much to bear or through the pursuit of political ...

Arkansas Atrocity Highlights Need for Reform in Rules Governing Carry in Public Parks

News  

Monday, August 25, 2025

Arkansas Atrocity Highlights Need for Reform in Rules Governing Carry in Public Parks

On the heels of the shocking and seemingly random murder of a couple in an Arkansas state park while they were walking a trail with their young children, many are revisiting their self-defense plans in the great ...

Everytown Gun “Safety” Course—Step One: Don’t Own a Gun

News  

Monday, August 25, 2025

Everytown Gun “Safety” Course—Step One: Don’t Own a Gun

Our friends at the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have reported that Everytown, an active and well-funded anti-gun organization, is now purporting to be branching out into teaching gun owners how to safely handle firearms.

Third Circuit Sua Sponte Takes NRA’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Ban Case En Banc

Wednesday, August 27, 2025

Third Circuit Sua Sponte Takes NRA’s “Assault Firearm” and Magazine Ban Case En Banc

Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs v. Attorney Gen. New Jersey is an NRA-supported challenge to New Jersey’s prohibitions on so-called “assault firearms” and magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds.

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Monday, July 7, 2025

Florida: Second Amendment Sales Tax Holiday Signed by Governor

Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the Florida Budget for Fiscal Year 2025–2026, which includes a Second Amendment sales tax holiday from September 8 through December 31, 2025. The NRA is thankful for Governor DeSantis’ strong ...

Florida Urges SCOTUS to Grant Cert in NRA’s Challenge to its Young Adult Purchase Ban and to Rule its Own Law Unconstitutional

Wednesday, August 20, 2025

Florida Urges SCOTUS to Grant Cert in NRA’s Challenge to its Young Adult Purchase Ban and to Rule its Own Law Unconstitutional

In May, the National Rifle Association petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to hear NRA v. Glass, our challenge to Florida’s ban on firearm purchases by adults under 21.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s “Assault-Style” Firearms Ban

Thursday, August 21, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging Massachusetts’s “Assault-Style” Firearms Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners’ Action League, Pioneer Valley Arms, three NRA members, and another individual filed a lawsuit challenging Massachusetts’s ban on “assault-style” firearms.

Tenth Circuit Holds New Mexico’s 7-Day Waiting Period Unconstitutional in NRA Case

Tuesday, August 19, 2025

Tenth Circuit Holds New Mexico’s 7-Day Waiting Period Unconstitutional in NRA Case

Today, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals held New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period for firearm purchases unconstitutional in Ortega v. Grisham, a case brought by the National Rifle Association and Mountain States Legal Foundation, with the ...

Minnesota: Governor Tim Walz Signs Anti-Gun Bill Into Law

Friday, May 31, 2024

Minnesota: Governor Tim Walz Signs Anti-Gun Bill Into Law

On May 24th, Governor Tim Walz signed House File 5247, a large omnibus bill that included a provision that bans certain firearm triggers. The effective date for the trigger ban is set for January 1st ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.