Federal Judge in Kansas Declines to Block Rule Requiring Background Checks at Gun Shows

AR-15 rifles are on display during the Nation's Gun Show at Dulles Expo Center in Chantilly, Va., on Nov. 18, 2016. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

A federal judge in Kansas has declined to block the nationwide enforcement of a federal rule requiring anyone who sells guns predominantly for profit to be licensed and conduct background checks, sometimes referred to as the “gun show loophole” because its target group notably includes merchants at gun shows.

The ruling was issued by U.S. District Judge Toby Crouse in response to a lawsuit brought by Kansas, 19 other states, three individual gun collectors, and a Wichita, Kansas-based collectors association. The complaint was initially filed in Arkansas and later transferred to Kansas after a judge found that Arkansas had no standing to sue.

Besides the Arkansas lawsuit that was moved to Kansas, there were two other similar legal challenges to the rule in Florida and Texas, bringing the total number of plaintiff states to 26, with all complainants arguing that the rule was an unconstitutional infringement of the Second Amendment and amounted to an illegal attempt to circumvent Congress and expand background checks.

In the Kansas ruling, the judge wrote that the plaintiffs’ predictions of harm to the states, gun collectors, and groups were too speculative, undermining their argument of success on the merits. While the plaintiffs may ultimately succeed on the merits, the judge wrote that “they failed to make a strong showing that they are substantially likely to do so.”

The rule was developed by the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). It was finalized in April and it changed the legal definition of what it means to be “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms, requiring anyone selling guns for profit to obtain a federal license and conduct background checks.

There were exceptions to the rule for hobbyists, antique gun collectors, family transfers, and occasional sales to enhance or liquidate a personal collection, with the key aspect of the exemption being that such sales weren’t predominantly motivated by the intent to make a profit.

The rule sought to change the legal state of affairs that allowed tens of thousands of guns to be sold every year at unlicensed dealers without being legally obligated to carry out background checks to see if the buyers were legally barred from owning firearms.

Proponents of the rule characterized it as the closing of a loophole that made it easier for people who are legally prohibited from owning guns such as convicted felons from getting them.

“This single gap in our federal background check system has caused unimaginable pain and suffering,” Vice President Kamala Harris, who oversees the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention, said on an April call with reporters that previewed the regulation.

Critics of the regulation saw it as a way to crack down on gun ownership by unconstitutional means.

“Congress has never passed into law the ATF’s dramatic new expansion of firearms dealer license requirements, and President Biden cannot unilaterally impose them,” Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin said when the lawsuit was first filed. “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.”

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, who joined Mr. Griffin in the lawsuit, said in a statement that he expects the law to be ultimately struck down.

“This is a very early stage in a case that is likely to continue for a long time unless President Trump is elected and immediately rescinds the rule,” he said.

A Texas judge blocked enforcement of the law in the Lone Star state but didn’t extend his decision to three other states that joined the lawsuit—Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah.

The Florida lawsuit remains pending.