Lincoln – Attorney General Mike Hilgers joined a coalition of 21 states in a lawsuit opposing an ATF rule that would prevent law-abiding Americans from privately selling firearms. 

 

The rule seeks to require a federal firearms dealer license for every individual who sells a firearm for anything the ATF sees as a profit, including currency, exchange of another firearm, or a service. It could make a felon of a gun hobbyist who sells a firearm to another family member or a hunter who trades a firearm with another hunting buddy.

 

“Until now, those who repetitively purchased and sold firearms as a regular course of business had to become a licensee… This rule would put innocent firearm sales between law-abiding friends and family members within reach of federal regulation,” the court filing reads. “Such innocent sales between friends and family would constitute a felony if the seller did not in fact obtain a federal firearms license and perform a background check.” 

 

In the suit filed in Arkansas, the attorneys general argue that the rule is unconstitutional because it is vague, violates the Second Amendment, and circumvents Congress.

   

Nebraska joined the lawsuit alongside attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.