Today, the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit denied the request of a coalition of anti-Second Amendment states (led by New Jersey) to intervene in a lawsuit against the ATF. Today’s denial was issued in three sentences from the court, but did allow them to seek to join as amici, or interested parties.
Proving yet again how much it despises civil liberties, the State of New Jersey, under Attorney General Matthew Platkin, sought to intervene in a federal lawsuit challenging the ATF’s authority.
AG Platkin on leading national fight to protect federal firearm safety measures from incoming Trump Administration: pic.twitter.com/0KeKXL3XaT
— Attorney General Matt Platkin (@NewJerseyOAG) January 16, 2025
On January 16, New Jersey, along with the states listed below, filed a “Motion for Leave to Intervene” in the case of *Texas v. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives*, asking to be joined to the case as defendants.
The list of states joining New Jersey reads like a typical Who’s Who of Second Amendment-loathing characters: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
The lawsuit against the ATF was filed by Gun Owners of America and Gun Owners Foundation on May 1, 2024, to challenge the recently finalized “Engaged in the business” rule, which constituted a severe overreach by the federal agency by redefining law-abiding gun owners who wished to sell pieces of their personal collection as firearms dealers, subject to extreme penalties.
As we reported, on May 19, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk issued a temporary restraining order against the ATF’s capricious rule. In his decision, the judge suggested that it’s unwise to trust a government that promises not to enforce a rule, which was the ATF’s position.
Why are New Jersey and the coalition of states taking this unusual step now? They are terrified of the incoming Trump administration. In their own words: “The incoming Administration has threatened these common-sense protections, so States are stepping in.” That is implicitly good news for gun owners suggesting the position of the new administration will be largely favorable towards the Second Amendment.
The memo issued by the New Jersey Attorney General also identifies machinegun conversion devices (MCDs) and forced reset triggers (FRTs) as areas of concern stating, “Today’s filing will protect communities from military-style machineguns in light of the risk that the Trump Administration will stop defending this policy, allowing FRTs to proliferate and threaten public safety nationwide.”
Trying to tie MCDs to “public safety”, Platkin notes that New Jersey is suing Glock, one of the most popular handgun manufacturers in existence. We covered this story in December, noting that the Glock neither sells, manufactures or distributes MCDs, and federal law already prohibits their use, except if a firearm is registered as an NFA item. That essentially makes the lawsuit frivolous, but when it comes to New Jersey, the goal seems to be to inflict maximum legal pain on law-abiding gun owners, manufacturers, and FFLs.
Today’s swift denial was positive news for the Second Amendment community.
