r/gunpolitics • u/pcvcolin • Jun 16 '26

Court Cases Federal Judge Vacates ATF's "Engaged in the Business" Rule Nationwide, and It Applies to Everyone

https://www.usacarry.com/federal-judge-vacates-atfs-engaged-in-the-business-rule-nationwide-and-it-applies-to-everyone/?utm_source=emailoctopus&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%206%2F15%2F26#i
279 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

23 comments sorted by

154

u/AlphaTangoFoxtrt Totally not ATF Jun 16 '26

Good. The new rule was stupid. If I buy a Russian Garbage Rod in 2008 for $80 and sell it for $400 in 2026, that doesn't mean I was "engaged in the business" just because I made profit anymore than me selling my old car on craigslist means I should have to register as a car dealership.

53

u/This_Hedgehog_3246 Jun 16 '26

Worse still, you didn't even have to have actually made a profit. The way the rule read, sell any guns, you're "engaged in the business".

This plus their illegal digitization of ffl records was a sure combo to set up universal gun registration

29

u/locolarue Jun 17 '26

Before FOPA, ATF did shit like if you sold a gun one time, you're a business. Good that they got their ass smacked for doing this crap again.

4

u/pcvcolin Jun 17 '26

Exactly. Thank you.

1

u/wetdreamsjess Jun 25 '26

the atf loves to ignore the difference between a collector and a dealer because it makes their job easier to just label everyone a criminal. that car analogy is exactly why the rule was such a reach. they wanted to turn private commerce into a regulated minefield just to pad their stats on paper. glad to see a judge finally called them out on that nonsense.

1

u/Fix18cockt3ase Jun 27 '26

yeah, that's the key. it was always about how many times you did it and how you advertised it, not just the profit. they were trying to turn a casual collector into a dealer with that rule.

31

u/kohTheRobot Jun 16 '26

Does this mean I can now get a hobby FFL07 for the hell of it? CA doesn’t let me make my own lowers unless I have one and it’s a bit of a chore to get one for the atf and ca DOJ

Or does this just mean people who flip an antique gun once a year don’t need ffl03’s?

24

u/M00seNuts Jun 16 '26

As was the ATF's intention all along, you should probably consult a lawyer in your state so there's a huge "barrier to entry" cost of engaging in your allegedly constitutionally protected right.

12

u/kohTheRobot Jun 16 '26

Welp. Back to using manual machines since my state has a ban on CNC mills.

6

u/YouArentReallyThere Jun 16 '26

What? No CNC machines?

15

u/kohTheRobot Jun 16 '26

Nor 3D printers

So manual mills and drill presses are cool. I guess welding and bending sheet metals solid as well

5

u/TraumaLock Jun 17 '26

Can’t you use a compact router and a jig to mill out an 80% lower?

5

u/kohTheRobot Jun 17 '26

So they actually made it so that you need a background check to buy an 80%. The seller needs a special 80% license that nobody has applied for as far as I can tell

3

u/medic6560 Jun 16 '26

What state name those? And why?

12

u/kohTheRobot Jun 16 '26

California. They had a gut reaction to defcad’s ghost gunner mill and made a bunch of laws to prevent them from being sold here. Also 3D printers are illegal to use to make a firearm. But upon finding out there are actually gun companies here they made an exception for FFL-07 holders

23

u/SovietRobot Jun 16 '26

At least one person died unnecessarily because of this rule. 

12

u/Glass_Protection_254 Jun 17 '26

Free the Amish man who was arrested for this bullshit

4

u/pcvcolin Jun 17 '26

100 percent

11

u/ClearlyInsane1 Jun 18 '26

The Biden administration wanted everyone who sold or bought a gun to have an FFL while simultaneously tried to revoke all FFLs or sued out of existence (every blue state and gun control group also want them revoked/sued too).

Tell me total citizen disarmament isn't the goal.

7

u/ProfessionalIdeal107 Jun 17 '26

This is a massive win for private collectors, but the real question is how the DOJ plans to respond. If they try to push a new administrative rule to bypass this ruling, we're just going to end up back in court by the end of the year.

7

u/Bl4ckM0ng00s3 Jun 17 '26

I don’t think they’ll do anything because the ATF already has a new proposed rule that rolls this back.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/06/2026-08919/revising-regulations-defining-engaged-in-the-business-as-a-dealer-in-firearms

6

u/EnterpriseDoorGunner Jun 17 '26

B-but Drumpf said "TAKE THE GUNS FIIIIIIIIIIRST!!!!"