Federal Judge Won’t Halt BATFE Rifle Sale Rules

In a setback for gun dealers in four U.S. states bordering Mexico, a federal judge on Thursday refused to temporarily block new rules requiring them to report the sale of multiple semi-automatic rifles.

Judge Rosemary Collyer said the dealers, backed by the National Rifle Association, had not sufficiently shown they would suffer irreparable harm without a preliminary injunction. She scheduled an October hearing on a permanent injunction.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) ordered more than 8,000 gun dealers in Texas, Arizona, New Mexico and California to report the sale within five business days of two or more rifles to the same person.

The Obama administration issued the reporting requirements to try to stem the flow of weapons across the border to violent drug cartels in Mexico. Mexican officials have complained bitterly about guns illegally coming from the United States.

The gun industry says the rules will not affect the cartels’ efforts but rather burden law-abiding retailers.-[source]