Florida – August 5, 2022 – America’s Future, Inc., a national leader in the fight to preserve individual rights, promote American values and traditions, and protect the nation’s Constitutional Republic, announced that it filed an Amicus brief on August 2 with nine other nonprofits, defending constitutional rights and American principles in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals case, Cargill v Merrick B. Garland, U.S. Attorney General; U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”), et al. (5th Cir. Dkt. No. 20-51016). This brief was filed in accordance with the Fifth Circuit’s August 1 order granting these Amici organizations’ Motion for Leave of Court to File.

In this case, the Plaintiff, Mr. Cargill, asserts his Second Amendment right to bear arms and requests the Court enjoin and prohibit enforcement of an ATF agency regulation – the Bump Stock Rule – and challenged ATF’s authority to rewrite law, usurping Congressional powers.

The gist of this case is that the ATF unlawfully expanded the meaning of “machinegun” to include guns modified with bump stock. This ATF action violates principles of separation of powers, and infringes the Second Amendment by causing criminal statutes to suddenly cast much wider nets with much sharper teeth instantaneously transforming the lawful conduct of owning and/or using these altered guns into felonious acts subject to criminal prosecution and sentencing.

“America’s Future will always defend the constitutional rights of all Americans and our Constitutional Republic system of government.” said Mary O’Neill, America’s Future Executive Director. “This case is a remarkable example of governmental infringement of our Second Amendment rights, Executive Branch overreach, and even cuts at the heart of our separation of powers doctrine.”

In addition to this filing, America’s Future has joined in a number of other Amicus filings that are available on our Law & Policy page.

Download PDF

Return to the Press Releases page