The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday handed down a ruling that Liberty advocates feel will curtail the federal government's abuses of administrative power for years to come.
The 6-2 opinion in the case of Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo handed down on June 24 isn't a gun case. It is an appeal of a 2022 decision from the U.S. First Circuit that upheld a NOAA and National Marine Fisheries Service rule requiring commercial fishing companies to foot the bill for government ride-along inspectors on their boats.
Where this is important for gun cases is that the finding – against the fish cops and for the fishing companies – overturns the longstanding Chevron v. Natural Res. Def. Council precedent, which has held sway in federal regulatory circles since 1984. This so-called "Chevron deference" gave federal agencies almost unchecked powers to interpret and apply laws written by Congress, particularly in gray areas not spelled out in black and white, typically defaulting to federal regulators when in doubt. In short, giving federal bureaucrats space to operate in the vacuum between the lines.
"Chevron was a judicial invention that required judges to disregard their statutory duties," said Chief Justice John Roberts for the majority. "And the only way to ‘ensure that the law will not merely change erratically, but will develop in a principled and intelligible fashion,’ is for us to leave Chevron behind."
The case, heard in tandem with Relentless Inc. v. Dept. of Commerce, was brought by a host of commercial fishing interests backed by advocacy groups such as the New Civil Liberties Alliance. The NCLA argued that Congress cannot delegate judicial power to executive agencies, something that Chevron had effectively allowed.
"Today’s decision vindicates the rule of law," said attorney Roman Martinez who delivered oral argument in the Relentless case. "By ending Chevron deference, the Court has taken a major step to shut down unlawful power grabs by federal agencies and to preserve the separation of powers. Going forward, judges will be charged with interpreting the law faithfully, impartially, and independently, without deference to the government. This is a win for individual liberty and the Constitution."
When it comes to its impact on the right to keep and bear arms, firearms industry experts told Guns.com the ruling could have far-reaching effects in future litigation.
"The U.S. Supreme Court’s Loper Bright decision is clear as it is definitive," Mark Oliva, the managing director for public affairs for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, explained in an email. "Chief Justice Roberts wrote it into the Court’s opinion: Chevron is overruled. That, of course, is the same legal theory the Biden administration relied on for the ATF to add its own interpretation to reclassify brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles and for ATF to redefine who is ‘engaged-in-the-business’ of selling firearms and requires a license. The Biden administration drafted criminal law out of thin air. The ATF conjured into existence what they wanted the law to be by abusing the rulemaking process. The Loper Bright decision appears to make both final rules dead upon challenge."
Banner image: Beretta 92X in the Guns.com Vault.
