Friday, May 24, 2024

SAF Preparing for SCOTUS Fall Hearing in VanDerStok Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has granted certiorari in the case of Garland v. VanDerStok, which involves a challenge of the Biden administration’s “Final Rule” on frames and receivers, and which was joined by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) in 2022.

Houston attorney Chad Flores represents SAF and Defense Distributed in their intervention, and has received the briefing and argument schedule from the high court. June 25 is the briefing deadline for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Aug. 13 is the deadline for SAF and its fellow appellants to submit their briefs.

August 20 is the briefing deadline for appellants’ amici to submit their supporting documents.

Oral argument is tentatively scheduled for early October, with the 7th, 8th or 9th being the most likely dates for the high court hearing.

“We’re happy to be moving toward a fall hearing before the Supreme Court in this important case,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The ATF is attempting to reverse years of regulatory tradition by re-defining what constitutes a functional firearm, and in the process has usurped the authority of Congress. The high court cannot allow this blatant power grab by the Biden administration.”

“The legal issues in VanDerStok could not be clearer,” added SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “We have three separate branches of government — Executive, Legislative and Judicial — and an agency within the Executive Branch simply cannot make up its own rules or change them arbitrarily, especially when it involves the exercise of a constitutional right. Authority to regulate firearms is solely in the hands of Congress, not an executive agency, which is what this case is really all about. We’re looking forward to making that argument in October.”

For more information, visit saf.org.

The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 720,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.