LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin announced on May 1 that the state will be challenging a new rule by the Biden administration that looks to close what is called the gun show loophole.
Griffin said that Arkansas along with Kansas will be leading a 21-state coalition challenging the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) rule. The attorney general claimed the rule would attack "the ability of private collectors and hobbyists to buy and sell firearms."
The rule, which was announced in April, ensures that anyone who sells guns "predominantly to earn a profit" must have a federal license and run background checks whether they are selling at a gun show, at a store, or on the internet.
Officials expect that the new rule will impact around 20,000 gun dealers who have sold firearms online or at gun shows without licenses or performing background checks. Many who sell this way have claimed they aren't "engaged in the business" of gun sales, according to an Associated Press report.
Griffin said the lawsuit will contend that since Congress never enacted these new requirements as a law, "President Biden cannot unilaterally impose them."
"This lawsuit is just the latest instance of my colleagues in other states and me having to remind the President that he must follow the law," Griffin said.
ATF Director Steve Dettelbach said this rule doesn't infringe on rights afforded under the Second Amendment and "will not negatively impact the many law-abiding licensed firearm dealers in our nation."
Almost two-thirds of the American public supports stricter gun laws, according to an AP/NORC poll conducted in Aug. 2023. The poll showed bipartisan support in the importance of preventing mass shootings, reducing gun violence, and a federal law that would require background checks on all gun buyers.
The Biden administration previously indicated that the law would hold up under any legal challenges.
You can read the full lawsuit by clicking here.
