An injunction preventing the Biden administration from implementing a new rule aimed at closing the “gun show loophole” has been extended to three more states by a federal judge in Texas.
President Joe Biden has implemented initiatives, several of which Republicans have challenged in court, in an effort to reduce gun violence in the country.
In order to address the so-called “gun show loophole,” which let unlicensed dealers to sell firearms to clients without doing a background check, Biden announced in April that a new rule will take effect on May 20.
In order to guarantee that individuals who sell handguns online or at gun fairs are authorized dealers who do background checks on clients, the new law modifies the definition of “engaged in the business as a dealer in firearms.”
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Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, a former president Donald Trump appointee, barred the rule’s enforcement last month in Texas and against a few gun owner associations. On Wednesday, he extended his ruling to the three more states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah.
Kacsmaryk sided with the four states, a few groups, and the individual who brought the action, contending that the Biden administration broke rule-making laws when it issued the new rule, in his 21-page decision on Wednesday.
“Plaintiffs understandably fear that these presumptions will trigger civil or criminal penalties for conduct deemed lawful just yesterday,” he stated.
The coalition’s leader, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, praised the injunction in a statement.
“Biden’s unconstitutional rule cannot be enforced in Texas,” the Republican stated. “I’m proud to fight and win for our Second Amendment rights.”
