Wyoming is challenging a BATFE ruling on the return of the right to own firearms.
The U.S. District Attorney's Office in Cheyenne is reviewing a lawsuit filed Monday against the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives by the state of Wyoming.
"We need to evaluate what the case is and what we're going to do with it," said spokesman John Powell.
The lawsuit essentially centers on who has the authority to restore gun rights to people convicted of misdemeanor domestic violence offenses. But a bigger issue could be the BATF's threat to deem Wyoming-issued concealed weapon permits invalid at federally licensed firearms dealers.
And
Until the mid-1980s, these federal requirements prohibited anyone who had "been convicted in any court of any misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" from possessing firearms or obtaining a concealed weapon permit, known in legal terms as a CCW.
The 1986 Firearms Owners' Protection Act changed that, allowing states to determine who is eligible to possess firearms and whose convictions could be expunged.
So now the BATFE is fighting the states decision on who qualifies per the allowance of the 1986 act.
Fascinating that the law gives the state the right to create the definition that meets their needs, yet the BATFE gets to decide whether they like what the state did and disqualify their legislation should they dislike the outcome.
The best part comes with Wyoming suing based on 10th amendment rights.
Besides the disputes about the meaning of "expunge" and the Carrying Concealed Weapon permits, Wyoming wants the court to declare the BATF violated the 10th Amendment's mandate that reserves to the states all powers not delegated to the federal government.
The outcome should be interesting.
