Missouri AG calls on Court to halt new firearms sales rule implemented by ATF

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - The Missouri Attorney General has now moved to file a suit against the ATF for a new rule meant to prevent unlicensed private sales of firearms.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey announced on Thursday, May 2, that he joined a coalition of 20 other states to file a suit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives over a new rule. He believes the rule attacks the ability of gun owners and private sellers.

“When out-of-touch D.C. elites target Missourians’ Second Amendment rights, I will always take action to protect those liberties,” AG Bailey said. “The Framers enshrined the right to keep and bear arms into the Constitution with the promise that those rights shall not be infringed. As a gun owner myself, I will use every legal tool at my disposal to fight government overreach.”

The new rule requires those who own a firearm and want to sell it for a profit must first apply for a federal firearms dealer license. The ATF indicated that “profit” means any cash, trades or services acquired for the firearm.

Previously, those who repetitively purchased and sold firearms as a business were only required to get the license.

“This rule would put innocent firearm sales between law-abiding friends and family members within reach of federal regulation. Such innocent sales between friends and family would constitute a felony if the seller did not in fact obtain a federal firearms license and perform a background check,” the attorneys general assert in the lawsuit.

Bailey argues that the rule is unconstitutional as it violates the Second Amendment and avoids congressional authority. Other states joining include Kansas, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia and more. The states have asked the Court to postpone the rule and declare it a violation of the Constitution.

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