District Judge Reed O’Connor issued a preliminary injunction Thursday against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF’s) partial frame rule.
The partial frame rule is contained within ATF Final Rule 2021-05F, and makes clear the ATF’s position that partially completed pistol frames–commonly known as 80 percent frames–are “firearms.”
On December 28, 2022, Breitbart News reported ATF’s explanation of Final Rule 2021-05F:
Applying the regulatory text of Final Rule 2021-05F, partially complete Polymer80, Lone Wolf, and similar striker-fired semiautomatic pistol frames, including, but not limited to, those sold within parts kits, have reached a stage of manufacture where they “may readily be completed, assembled, restored, or otherwise converted” to a functional frame. This definition of “readily” applies to each and every classification of a partially complete frame or receiver under this Rule, whether sold alone or as part of a kit. Therefore, even without any associated templates, jigs, molds, equipment, tools, instructions, guides, or marketing materials, these partially complete pistol frames are “frames” and also “firearms” as defined in the GCA and its implementing regulations, 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3)(B) and 27 CFR 478.12(a)(1), (c).
The Second Amendment Foundation brought suit against the rule on behalf of Defense Distributed, seeking both a preliminary injunction and injunctive relief. On March 2, 2023, O’Connor issued a preliminary injunction, without relief.
O’Connor wrote:
In sum, Defense Distributed has shown it is entitled to a preliminary injunction against Defendants’ enforcement of the Final Rule. However, the Second Amendment Foundation has not carried its burden. Accordingly, the Court GRANTS the motion in part and ORDERS that Defendants and their officers, agents, servants, and employees are enjoined from implementing and enforcing against Defense Distributed and its customers (except for those individuals prohibited from possessing firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)) the provisions in 27 C.F.R. §§ 478.11 and 478.12 that the Court has preliminarily determined are unlawful.
The case is VanDerStok v. Garland, No. 422-cv-691, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.