Federal Court Temporarily Reverses ATF Ban

Legal Disclaimer: The information in this blog is not legal advice. We are not lawyers. While we endeavor to keep all our blogs updated with the most accurate information, gun laws are ever changing and they can change quickly with little to complex differences in new legislation. Therefore, while we try our best to provide complete information, we acknowledge that everything you’re reading below may change (or already has changed).

Do not rely solely on the information provided by us or on this website for your purchase decisions. To ensure that you, the buyer, are acting in accordance with all federal, state laws and local ordinances, please be sure to do your own research and consult an attorney if necessary. 

Folks, it’s time to take a victory lap because we just received the preliminary injunction from the VanDerStok v. Garland case that’s being represented by FPC! You can now buy 80 lower jigs and 80 lowers from 80 Percent Arms!

The North Texas District Court has made it possible for us to begin shipping our customers’ long awaited Easy Jigs® (Gen 3 Multiplatform™) and MOD1 jigs again! To be clear, we are doing so with the full protection of the federal court. The legal protections enable customers to lawfully purchase our products during this time and that goes for new customers to 80 Percent Arms as well.

However, the court made clear that if you are not legally allowed to possess firearms in the first place then protections from this preliminary injunction do not apply to you.

Why this ‘legal protection’ is only temporary

Following the Court order which granted us the preliminary injunction against the ATF’s “final rule” on redefining frames or receivers, it doesn’t actually mean that a final judgment has been rendered by the Court. That’s because the ATF could still submit an appeal which would send the case to the 5th Circuit (court of appeals). This case may very well have the possibility of going all the way to the Supreme Court. But before that happens, we highly advise all our customers and new buyers to buy and build now before the government gets another shot at twisting the status quo.

What is a preliminary injunction?

According to the Texas Attorney General, “a preliminary injunction is an extraordinary remedy requiring the applicant to unequivocally show the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Preliminary injunctions are granted in court cases either before or during a trial, and if they are, their goal is to preserve the status quo before a final judgment. So in our case, that would mean the clock temporarily rewinds to August 23rd, 2022 as if the ATF rule never happened.

To receive a preliminary injunction is no small feat. As you can see in our timeline below, multiple companies and organizations had failed to receive a preliminary injunction; however, we successfully received ours.

What does this mean for my order?

If you are one of the many loyal customers who kept their order in the queue without canceling, thank you so much for your patience and understanding. You’re about to be rewarded with your package and more! Thank you to those that believed in us and hung in there despite not receiving their order for quite some time.

Can I buy 80 lower jigs now?

Yes! The time to buy jigs to drill, mill and complete your 80 lowers is now! Our Easy Jig Gen 3 is flying off the shelves as is our MOD1 jig. We’ve even made the original jig for the GST-9 legacy frame (V1) available as well! Get ‘em while supplies last.

Are 80% Compatible Glock frames legal?

Yes! In fact we are the ONLY manufacturer and retailer that is legally allowed to sell both the 80% Glock style pistol frame and its jig (just not in a bundle, but they do ship within the same order). Our customers are allowed to purchase both products within the same order and are protected by the injunction.

As a reminder - Due to changed ATF regulations from 2021, we cannot legally include the jig or frame rails with the GST-9 frame. The jig and GST-9 frame must be purchased on our website as two separate items. Each jig includes one set of GST-9 frame rails. You will need one jig for each 80% lower you plan to build. MOD1 rails are ONLY included with the jig, not with the 80% lower itself or sold separately.

Complete Timeline

This is the complete timeline of the major events leading up to where we are today:

April 8, 2021 - Biden gave remarks on how he planned on addressing Gun Violence Prevention hinting at what was to come, spiking a huge trend of increased anti-gun sentiment and new proposals of gun control restrictions.

May 2021 - About a month later the Proposed Rule 2021R-05 was released and the public commenting period on the Federal Register site lasted from May 21 - Aug 19, 2021. (Over 290,000 comments were submitted)

Fall 2021 - Once the public commenting period closed, the ATF said that they would need up until Feb 2022 to have ample time to review and respond based on the massive amount of comments made. 

May 2022 - Division 80, LLC was the first company to file a lawsuit against the ATF regarding 2021R-05. Unfortunately, they were denied a preliminary injunction in their court case.

July 2022 - Gun Owners of America, a pro-gun rights advocacy group filed a lawsuit against the ATF regarding 2021R-05. Unfortunately, they were also denied a preliminary injunction in their court case.

April 11, 2022 - Attorney General Merrick Garland signed the ATF “Final Rule”, Definition of “Frame or Receiver” and Identification of Firearms. Its effective date was set for August 24, 2022.

August 11, 2022 - The Firearms Policy Coalition filed a lawsuit against the ATF regarding 2021R-05F on behalf of multiple plaintiffs. August 24, 2022 - ATF “Final Rule” 2021R-05F went into effect.

October 18, 2022 - Court order granted 80 Percent Arms to legally join the FPC lawsuit as an additional plaintiff.

November 3, 2022 - Court order granted 80 Percent Arms preliminary injunction protecting the company, its employees and legal customers from the ATF rule which was preliminarily deemed as unlawful. 

THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER

We can’t thank the gun community and our loyal customers enough for sticking it out with us and remaining patient despite all the uncertainty which has loomed over for the past year. Together, we have successfully pushed back against the ATF and restored your right to build your own firearms. 

While this victory is great for our customers, it's only temporary. Your continuous support is necessary for us to defeat the ATF in the developing lawsuit so that we may permanently protect 2nd Amendment rights.  

Please continue supporting us and exercise your 2nd Amendment rights by either checking out our Legal Defense Fund or buy some 80 lowers and jigs today and start building!

Since setting up the Legal Defense Fund, we've successfully challenged the ATF Rule in Federal Court alongside The Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and were granted a Preliminary Injunction that allows customers to purchase both jigs and lowers from us allowing us to proceed with business as usual prior to the rule going into effect.