Ken Paxton
Attorney General Ken Paxton joined a multistate coalition that filed an amicus brief with the United States Supreme Court, seeking to stop the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from re-interpreting federal statutes in order to declare that owning or using a “bump stock” turns a semi-automatic rifle into a machine gun, subjecting the owner to criminal prosecution. The brief argues that thousands of Americans have lawfully purchased and owned these accessories for years and use them for lawful purposes, and that the ATF’s revised interpretation will cause far-reaching consequences and restrict fundamental Second Amendment freedoms.
“The ATF has completely overreached by reversing its nearly two decades-old opinion on this matter, leaving many responsible gun owners vulnerable to prosecution on accessories that were legally purchased,” Attorney General Paxton said. “This federal organization has no right to use their power to unconstitutionally restrict Americans’ Second Amendment rights.”
Read the Amicus Brief here.
