DOJ Drops Defense of Biden-Era Gun Rule Texas Fought

Attorney General Ken Paxton is touting a major win for gun owners after the Trump Department of Justice backed off defending a Biden-era rule that targeted private firearm sales. The move leaves in place a court injunction that blocks enforcement of the regulation in Texas and other plaintiff states while litigation continues.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “engaged in the business” rule—pushed under the Biden administration—sought to dramatically expand who counts as a “dealer” under federal law.

By redefining the term, the rule would have forced many ordinary gun owners who occasionally sell firearms to obtain a federal license and run background checks or risk civil and criminal penalties.

Second Amendment advocates and multiple states argued the rule effectively created back-door universal background checks, criminalizing private, non-commercial transactions that Congress has historically protected. They also warned that the policy flipped the presumption of innocence, presuming gun owners were “engaged in the business” unless they could prove otherwise.

In May 2024, Paxton led a multistate coalition suing the Biden administration and ATF over the rule, arguing it exceeded the agency’s authority and violated the Second Amendment.

Soon after, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order, followed by a preliminary injunction blocking enforcement of the regulation against Texas and other plaintiffs.

The court found the rule likely unlawful, noting that it shifted the burden onto gun owners to “prove innocence rather than the government prove guilt” and could penalize conduct that had been legal just days before.

Paxton framed the injunction as a key protection for law-abiding citizens engaged in traditional private sales, saying the rule “would criminalize the private sale of guns” and undermine core Second Amendment rights.

In a significant development this month, the U.S. Department of Justice asked the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to dismiss its own appeal of the injunction in the case known as Texas v. ATF. That retreat effectively cements the existing protections for gun owners in the plaintiff states, leaving the Biden-era rule sidelined while the underlying lawsuit proceeds.

“This is exactly what happens when the federal government’s gun control schemes are dragged into the light,” said Chris McNutt, president of Texas Gun Rights. “They collapse. This rule was never about public safety, it was about building a system to monitor and control lawful gun owners. And now the DOJ knows it can’t defend it.”

Gun Owners of America, a co-plaintiff with Texas, called the DOJ’s move a “surrender” that leaves the ATF rule politically and legally isolated in federal court. With the current administration no longer actively defending the regulation on appeal, Paxton and other plaintiffs now have a clearer path to seek broader relief, including a nationwide injunction or full vacatur of the rule.

Paxton is crediting the change in course to President Donald Trump’s new administration, which has moved to abandon the Biden-era position and drop the appeal.

“The Second Amendment is a cornerstone of American freedom, and I will never allow it to be undermined by unlawful federal overreach,” Paxton said, praising the move to walk away from the rule.

He argued that backing off the appeal “restores the rule of law for gun owners across the country” and sends a signal that federal agencies cannot rewrite gun statutes to criminalize law-abiding Americans.

For now, gun owners in Texas and other plaintiff states remain shielded from the ATF’s expanded “dealer” definition while the case continues in federal court. Private, non-commercial gun sales between individuals covered by the injunction can continue under prior law, without the sweeping new licensing and background-check requirements contained in the Biden-era rule.

Another win for Texas AG Ken Paxton! Texans are going to miss him as Texas attorney general but look forward to him defeating RINO John Cornyn in the May 26 primary runoff for US senator.

>>drop the rule

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The SCOTUS in June 2024 ruled against and knocked down the Chevron Deference.

Federal agencies cannot make rule (law) nor make their own interpretations of law.

3 posted on 04/30/2026 3:31:44 PM PDT by Deaf Smith (When a Texan takes his chances, chances will be taken that's for sure.)

Is it my imagination or is the DOJ operating much more smoothly under the acting AG?

I am SO HAPPY that Blondi’s gone and the DOJ can get back to representing the interests of the country, rather than the interests of a relative handful of Left Wing EXTREMISTS.

5 posted on 04/30/2026 5:18:50 PM PDT by BobL (Trusting one's doctor is the #1 health mistake one can make.)

Conservatives use the 2nd Amendment much like Liberals used Roe vs. Wade. “Shall Not Infringe” is a real clear and definitive statement. By keeping the water muddy, lawyers make bank defending the 2nd Amendment.

It really is just a cottage industry for lawyers. I have to laugh at the multiple stories regarding the “defenders” of a right that is inalienable and “shall not be infringed”.

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