Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen (R) recently announced he has joined with Kansas AG Kris Kobach (R) and Iowa AG Brenna Bird (R) to lead a coalition of 26 attorneys general, along with the Arizona State Legislature, against the Biden administration’s blatantly unconstitutional attack on law-abiding Americans’ Second Amendment rights.
Specifically, the group submitted a formal comment letter addressing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) proposed rulemaking regarding the “Definition of ‘Engaged in Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms.”
The letter explains that the ATF’s proposed rule “takes the unprecedented step of making any individual who sells a firearm ‘predominantly for profit’ liable to civil, administrative, or even criminal penalties—unless the seller acquires a federal license.”
The change in definition was brought about via the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), which amended the definition of “engaged in business.” At the time of its passage, the NRA warned that the BSCA was likely to be abused and, indeed, those concerns have been validated.
“This proposed rule is a flagrant violation of every American’s rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment, ignoring the very concerns our founders had when they ratified it,” said AG Knudsen. “Rather than meaningfully addressing the rise in violent crime occurring around the country, the Biden administration is once again criminalizing law-abiding citizens. I will always fight federal overreach and attempts to erode Montanans’ gun rights.”
The letter to ATF adds that the proposed rule is both “shocking” and “unconstitutional,” as well as “arbitrary and capricious.” It concludes by stating, “If the Bureau was serious about combatting violent crime, it would focus on enforcing the laws that are already on the books to hold violent criminals accountable for their actions. That would be the type of work that could save lives. Unfortunately, the Bureau has instead targeted innocent people who sell firearms. That is not only unlawful but wrong and the Bureau must change course.”
Attorney General Knudsen also recently spoke with America’s 1st Freedom Editor in Chief Frank Miniter about why he led another group of attorneys general to submit a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the NRA against the state of New York’s attempt to trample this civil-rights organization’s First Amendment Rights.
“Government should not be able to come in and act like the mafia,” says Attorney General Knudsen in this video interview. “And that’s really what this was. I mean you had Maria Vullo come in and act like a mobster and basically threaten companies for doing business with the NRA, and it wasn’t overt … . She never made any direct threats, but it was like a Tony Soprano situation. You know, ‘boy, that’s a nice business you have. It would be an awful shame if anything were to happen to it!’”
