U.S. DOJ Closes Gun Show Loophole; Judge Kacsmaryk (Of Course) Blocks Rule (Of Course) in 4 States

As I have noted before, firearm violence is a public-health disaster. The Justice Department has taken a major step in the effort to keep firearms out of the hands of high-risk individuals. As reported by the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation (emphasis added):

In a move that officials touted as the most significant increase in American gun regulation in decades, the Justice Department has finalized rules to close a loophole that allowed people to sell firearms online, at gun shows and at other informal venues without conducting background checks on those who purchase them. Vice President Harris and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland celebrated the rules and said they would keep firearms out of the hands of potentially violent people who are not legally allowed to own guns. (Stein, 4/11)

I'm a little late to the party on this development, but this is a big enough deal to warrant paying some attention.

That's the good news. 

Then there's the bad news (from The Hill (6/12/24):

A federal judge in Texas blocked the Biden administration’s attempt to close the so-called gun show loophole on Wednesday, expanding a prior temporary ruling to impact Texas, Louisiana, Utah and Mississippi.

Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled last month that the requirement to run a background check before purchasing a firearm could not go into effect in Texas. His final ruling Wednesday expands that injunction to the three other states.

The judge is the ever-ready, go-to federal jurist in Amarillo for conservative litigants from around the country who are keen to block the Biden Administration's reforms. (Bloomberg Law, May 9, 2024)

Members of Congress have expressed concern about the steady stream of anti-Administration rulings coming out of Amarillo in favor of far-flung litigants, usually with the flimsiest of connections to the Northern District of Texas. But so far, the Northern District judges have rebuffed suggestions to reform their procedures for assigning cases.