We\u2019re all hoping that 2025 will be the year where we push back against decades of 2nd Amendment encroachment. Recent court rulings have been trending pro 2A and the latest court victory by Franklin Armory and the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (FRAC) over the ATF looks to be continuing that trend. <\/p>\n
![\"FRAC](\"https:\/\/cdn0.thetruthaboutguns.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/reformation.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe U.S. District Court in North Dakota issued its opinion in the FRAC and Franklin Armory firearms classification-related lawsuit against ATF. The lawsuit<\/a> was filed back in 2023 and pertained to the way that ATF classified Franklin Armory\u2019s Reformation<\/a> and Antithesis<\/a> firearms. The Reformation is a short barreled firearm chambered in .300 Blackout that used straight rifling. ATF considered the Reformation to be a firearm subject to GCA but not subject to NFA, but said they needed to come up with a proper classification for it. The Antithesis is a .410\/.45 Colt firearm. ATF designated it a Short Barreled Rifle subject to both the GCA and NFA, despite not not meeting the legal definition of an SBR. Despite years of trying to work with the ATF on proper classifications, ATF refused and continued to stall. Thus the 2023 lawsuit to force the ATF to act.<\/p>\n It\u2019s taken 2 years, but on February 18th, 2025 Judge Daniel M. Traynor issued his ruling vacating the ATF\u2019s prior misclassifications of Franklin Armory\u2019s Reformation and Antithesis firearms. Franklin Armory points out that Judge Traynor\u2019s ruling solidifies what the firearms industry has known for years: that the ATF has been abusing its firearms technology classification powers. They\u2019ve gotten away with it for decades unchallenged but it looks like the courts are finally taking notice. <\/p>\n Franklin Armory presented a square peg, and ATF shoved it into a round hole. If Congress wanted \u201cshotgun\u201d to be a catch-all category for anything that doesn\u2019t fit \u201crifle,\u201d it could have done so. . . . . It is not for ATF to redefine the terms because it thinks Congress didn\u2019t intend a certain outcome. Therefore, ATF exceeded its authority in defining \u201csmoothbore\u201d as anything lacking \u201cfunctional rifling.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n So, does this mean that the Reformation and Antitheis will finally be available for purchase? Hopefully, but it\u2019s a little early still. FRAC and Franklin Armory are having their legal counsel review Judge Traynor\u2019s ruling to determine the future of both Reformation and Antithesis under the law. The ruling is a good precedent for other ATF overreach cases though. In response to ATF\u2019s arguments, Judge Traynor replied that \u201cAdministrative agencies need to remember they are in the executive branch and leave legislating to Congress.\u201d <\/p>\n FRAC President & CEO, Travis White, stated that \u201cthe ATF has egregiously abused the firearms technology classification process, and this is a landmark ruling in reining in such abuses.\u201d Franklin Armory President Jay Jacobson said, \u201cwe spent years trying to reason with ATF leadership as they failed to classify firearms correctly. We hope that future agency leaders will stick to the law as passed by Congress. All we ever wanted was a good referee, not someone to throw the game.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Judge Traynor\u2019s summary judgment ruling in FRAC v. Garland, No. 1:23-cv-00003, can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nThe Court\u2019s Opinion:<\/h2>\n
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\nStatement from FRAC and Franklin Armory<\/h2>\n