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FEDERAL COURT IN TEXAS GRANTS PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION PREVENTING ATF FROM ENFORCING NEW “ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS” RULE
June 13, 2024 – As RLF previously reported, on April 19, 2024, the ATF published a Final Rule regarding the definition of “engaged in the business” as a firearms dealer. The Final Rule, which went into effect on May 20, 2024, significantly expands the definition of who is required to have a federal firearms license and who is…
COURT COMPELS INSURANCE COMPANY TO PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SHOOTING RANGE SUICIDE LITIGATION
June 7, 2024 – A Delaware court recently ruled in favor of a shooting range, finding that its insurance liability policy covers claims arising from the range’s rental of a firearm. The court disagreed with the defendant insurance company that a “Rental of Sporting Equipment Exclusion” was permissible grounds to deny coverage under the policy.…
US SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF NRA IN FIRST AMENDMENT DISPUTE WITH NEW YORK
May 30, 2024 – Today, in a unanimous decision written by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the US Supreme Court revived the NRA’s lawsuit against the former superintendent of New York’s Department of Financial Services, Maria Vullo. In that case, the NRA alleged that she violated the NRA’s First Amendment rights by coercing insurance companies to terminate their business…
NEW FEDERAL BILL SEEKS TO BAN .50 CALIBER RIFLES, EXPAND MULTIPLE SALE REPORTS TO INCLUDE RIFLES, AND LIMIT PLCAA
May 23, 2024 – Three Democratic U.S. Representatives, with the endorsement of various anti-gun advocacy groups, have recently introduced a bill, the Stop Arming Cartels Act, that seeks to enact a multitude of new federal firearms laws. The Act would ban the import, sale, manufacture, transfer, or possession of .50 caliber rifles except for government agencies…
HALF OF THE STATES JOIN THREE LAWSUITS AGAINST THE ATF’S EXPANDED DEFINITION OF ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS
May 1, 2024 – As previously reported, the ATF published a Final Rule regarding the Definition of “Engaged in the Business” as a Dealer in Firearms in the Federal Register on April 19, 2024 (“Final Rule”). The Final Rule, which is scheduled to go into effect on May 20, 2024, greatly expands the definition of…
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION ENACTS NEW RESTRICTIONS ON THE EXPORT OF FIREARMS
April 30, 2024 – On October 27, 2023, the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (“BIS”) announced that it was temporarily pausing all firearm exports to non-governmental end-users except for those located in Israel, Ukraine, and most of the Wassenaar Arrangement countries. That “temporary” pause was subsequently extended. Today, BIS published an Interim…
TENNESSEE SENATE PASSES BILL ALLOWING EDUCATORS AND SCHOOL STAFF TO CARRY FIREARMS
On April 24, 2024, the Tennessee House passed Senate Bill 135, authorizing trained teachers and staff to carry firearms on school grounds. According to the bill, the director of schools, school principal, and chief of the local law enforcement agency for the school district each must sign off on the teacher’s or staff member’s authority…
CONGRESS MAKES ANOTHER ATTEMPT AT A FEDERAL PRIVACY BILL
April 19, 2024 – Earlier this month, the U.S. Congress unexpectedly released a draft of the American Privacy Rights Act, (“APRA”), a bipartisan, bicameral federal privacy bill. Privacy laws have enormous potential impact upon the everyday activities of businesses in the firearms industry. The requirements they impose relate to all information and data that is…
ATF CHANGES THE DEFINITION OF “ENGAGED IN THE BUSINESS” AS A DEALER IN FIREARMS
April 11, 2024 – As Renzulli Law Firm previously reported, in August 2023, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) issued a notice and request for comments relating to proposed amendments to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations for the purpose of implementing the provisions of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (“BSCA”), which…
VIRGINIA GOVERNOR VETOES PROPOSED FIREARM LEGISLATION
On March 27, 2024, Governor Glenn Youngkin of Virginia vetoed multiple anti-gun bills passed by the Virginia legislature, including HB 2, which would have prohibited the sale, purchase, import or manufacture of so-called “assault firearms” and “large capacity feeding devices” in Virginia. The bill defined “large capacity feeding device,” as any “magazine, belt, drum, feed…
INDIANA ENACTS LEGISLATION TO END THE CITY OF GARY’S EFFORTS TO REGULATE THE FIREARMS INDUSTRY THROUGH LITIGATION
On March 15, 2024, Governor Eric Holcomb signed into law Indiana House Enrolled Act 1235 (“HEA 1235”), which seeks to put an end to the City of Gary’s decades long lawsuit against members of the firearms industry. Despite the firearms industry already being heavily regulated by the federal government, some local municipalities have, over the…
NEW JERSEY ATTORNEY GENERAL CERTIFIES THAT MICROSTAMPING TECHNOLOGY IS VIABLE
February 28, 2024 – Today, the New Jersey Attorney General issued a certification stating that viable microstamping technology exists. In 2022, New Jersey enacted N.J. Stat. §§ 2C:58-2.13-15, which required the Attorney General to investigate whether microstamping-enabled firearms are technologically viable. A microstamp is defined as a “unique alphanumeric or geometric code that identifies the…
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR SIGNIFICANT ATF CASE THIS WEEK
February 27, 2024 – Tomorrow, the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments in the case of Garland v. Cargill, which has the potential to shape how future Presidential administrations can implement gun control without Congressional approval. At issue in the case is whether bump stocks fall within the definition of a “machinegun” under federal…
ATF’S “DEMAND 2” PROGRAM LIST OF TRACE REQUESTS
February 23, 2024 – USA Today recently published an article containing a list of federal firearm licensees (“FFLs”) that are part of the ATF’s “Demand 2” Program. In order to be placed on the Demand 2 List, an FFL must have sold at least 25 firearms that were traced within three years from when they…
VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE MOVES FORWARD TO BAN ‘ASSAULT FIREARMS’
On February 2, 2024, the Virginia House of Delegates voted 51-49 to approve a bill prohibiting the import, manufacture, purchase, sale, and transfer of “assault firearms” and certain ammunition feeding devices. On February 7, 2024, the Virginia Senate passed a similar bill 21-19. The legislation, if reconciled and passed, and then if signed into law,…
CALIFORNIA BACKGROUND CHECK FOR AMMUNITION RULED UNCONSTITUTIONAL BUT CAN STAY IN EFFECT, FOR NOW
On January 30, 2024, Judge Benitez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California struck down a California law mandating background checks for ammunition. The decision in the case, Kim Rhode, et al. v. Rob Bonta, held that a California law, Senate Bill 1235, requiring a background check for every purchase of…
NINTH CIRCUIT REFUSES TO ALLOW INFRINGEMENT OF CALIFORNIANS’ 2A RIGHTS WHILE APPEAL IS PENDING
January 16, 2024 – 2023 Senate Bill 2, (“SB 2”), a controversial new California law that aims to impose sweeping restrictions on carrying firearms in most public places in that state was blocked from taking effect – once again – on Saturday. Thus, California’s carry laws go back to the “status quo” as a case…
FEDERAL AND STATE LEGISLATION INTRODUCED BANNING DIGITAL FILES FOR 3D PRINTING FIREARMS AND REQUIRING BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR 3D PRINTERS
January 3, 2024 – Wishing all our readers a Happy and Healthy New Year! The year 2023 came with several notable legislative developments regarding firearms. Regardless of whether legislation affects manufacturers, distributors, retailers, or consumers, the federal government and individual states continue to find unconventional approaches to gun control, sometimes through new technology. Recent developments…
SECOND CIRCUIT UPHOLDS INJUNCTIONS AGAINST PARTS OF NEW YORK’S CONCEALED CARRY IMPROVEMENT ACT BUT ALSO UPHOLDS NEW YORK’S LICENSING REQUIREMENT FOR RETAILERS
December 13, 2023 – In a recent decision regarding four separate appeals before it challenging the constitutionality of New York State’s Concealed Carry Improvement Act (“CCIA”), the Second Circuit upheld injunctions prohibiting enforcement of certain parts of the CCIA. In another case, however, the Second Circuit also upheld New York State’s new licensing requirements for gun dealers. A.…
SENATE INTRODUCES NEW (AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL) BILL WITH NOVEL APPROACH TO FIREARM REGULATION
December 8, 2023 – A bill called the Gas-Operated Semi-Automatic Firearms Exclusion Act (the “GOSAFE Act”) was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate to ban semi-automatic firearms based on their method of operation, as opposed to their features like prior “assault weapons” bans. The GOSAFE Act seeks to prohibit the manufacture, sale, import, transfer, or…
FOURTH CIRCUIT STRIKES MARYLAND’S LAW MANDATING A HANDGUN QUALIFICATION LICENSE
On November 21, 2023, the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued a decision in two cases finding Maryland’s handgun licensing scheme unconstitutional. To obtain a firearm in Maryland, you must first fill out an application with certain identifying information and then wait seven days while the state performs a background check. Md.…
A Week in Review: Major Federal Court Decisions on Firearm Laws
November 10, 2023 – There have been three major federal court decisions in the past week affecting firearm laws across the nation. Two decisions are wins for the firearm industry and individual owners, while one may be considered a loss. The decisions affect firearm laws concerning bans on so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity” magazines,…
WHAT’S THE VALUE OF A NAME? THE OFTEN UNDER-APPRECIATED VALUE OF TRADEMARKS
October 24, 2023 – In the firearms industry, intellectual property is often equated with patents and protecting new inventions and innovations. This is undoubtedly an important aspect of the industry, and patents are vital. However, recent corporate news from the home goods sector provides a key reminder that, regardless of what business you are in,…
CALIFORNIA ENACTS NEW LAWS AFFECTING FIREARM DEALERS
On September 26, 2023, Governor Newsom signed into law two bills impacting federal firearm licensees (“FFL”) in California. The first bill, SB-417,sets forth specific warnings that all FFLs must “conspicuously post within the licensed premises.” The warnings, which must be posted “in block letters not less than one inch in height,” concern the safe storage…