Guns dot com (link provided by George Jefferson)
U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor denied a request from attorneys on behalf of the Justice Department to stay a February ruling that found interstate handgun purchase bans are unconstitutional.
The Citizens Committee for the Rights to Keep and Bear Arms originally brought the case, Mance v. Eric H. Holder and B. Todd Jones,
last July. The group filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the
Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth division, over the case of a
couple from Washington, D.C. who tried to buy handguns from a federally
licensed firearms dealer in Texas but could not due to federal law.
Under attack is the Federal Regulatory Regime set up by the Gun
Control Act of 1968 that bars FFLs from selling handguns to potential
eligible buyers who do not reside in the same state the dealer is
located.
No such restriction applies to the interstate sale of rifles or shotguns.
The government filed a motion two days after the Mance
judgment was handed down requesting a 60-day stay while Justice
contemplated appeal options. Connor effectively told the government to
either fish or cut bait Thursday in a simple order denying the motion.
This was greeted by suit plaintiffs with understated relief Monday.
“We’re delighted that Judge O’Connor is not going to simply allow the
government to stall this ruling,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb in
a statement obtained by Guns.com. “This case could have significant
ramifications nationwide, and allowing a two-month stay while the
government essentially claims it will be thinking about whether to
appeal obviously was not warranted.”
