“ATF should be shut down or at a minimum have all firearm rules and regulations set by them rescinded and remove their power to set ANY Rules or Regulations regarding firearms.”
In a significant victory for gun rights advocates, a federal judge in Alabama has ruled that portions of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) 2024 Final Rule on firearm dealing exceed the agency’s statutory authority. The decision, handed down just two days ago, could reshape how hobbyists and collectors navigate federal regulations on buying and selling guns, potentially easing fears of unlicensed prosecution for casual transactions.
The case, Butler v. Bondi, was decided by U.S. District Judge Corey L. Maze in the Northern District of Alabama’s Eastern Division on September 30, 2025. Plaintiffs—including individual gun enthusiasts Don Butler and David Glidewell, along with the National Rifle Association (NRA)—challenged the rule’s broad interpretation of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of dealing firearms under the Gun Control Act (GCA).
The ATF’s Final Rule, effective April 19, 2024, aimed to clarify and expand the definition of unlicensed firearm dealing. According to then-President Joe Biden, the change was over rising concerns over gun trafficking, although many saw those reasons as just an excuse. The ATF stated that their reasoning was rooted in the GCA and amendments such as the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act (FOPA) of 1986 and John Cornyn’s Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 (BSCA). The rule sought to require federal licenses for anyone “engaged in the business” of selling guns, even if not for primary profit.
By John Crump
