Franklin Armory 'FRACs' The ATF In A Major Victory

Franklin Armory and the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition (FRAC) have scored a significant victory over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) in the United States District Court of North Dakota. The action, brought on by the ATF's wrongful classification of the Franklin Armory Reformation and Antithesis firearms, led Judge Daniel M. Traynor to vacate the agency’s prior misclassifications and validate a well-known issue within the firearms industry and the Second Amendment community, that is, ATF abuse regarding firearm technology classification.

The Franklin Armory Reformation features a barrel shorter than 16” but, designed with straight lands and grooves, it neither meets the criteria of a rifle or a smooth bore, a conundrum placing the firearm outside the statutory definition of a shotgun according to the Gun Control Act (GCA) of 1968. Chambered in .300 Blackout, however, the Reformation also falls outside the statutory definition of a shotgun under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), defined as a firearm using shotgun shells. This clever trolling of the ATF keeps me warm at night.

So, what is it then? Franklin Armory refers to the design “NRS,” or “Not a Rifle or Shotgun.”

The ATF ruled the Reformation was a shotgun under the NFA, saying a smooth bore does not necessarily mean a bore that is smooth, just one absent rifling. Subsequently, the agency classified the Reformation as a GCA-only regulated short-barrel shotgun (SBS) like the Shockwave and the TAC-14, and in 2019, limited sales and transfers to FFL holders while restricting transporting the firearm across state lines. Due to the lack of an ATF procedure or form existing for a GCA-only SBS, the agency asserted that the development of a remedy was underway. In 2020, after failing the task, the ATF shifted its posture, instead stating that the transfer or transport of a GCA-only SBS without NFA regulation was inconsistent with public safety and stood in contradiction to Congress’ intent to regulate “concealable” shotguns.

The ATF determined the Antithesis classification as a short-barreled rifle (SBR) under the GCA and the NFA. The agency claimed “a rifled bore is an objective design feature designed and made to fire only a single projectile,” saying it didn’t make a difference if the firearm was designed to fire shotgun shells in addition to rifle cartridges.

With options running out, Franklin Armory decided to sue the ATF with the help of FRAC in 2023, which is when the ATF curiously shifted positions on the Reformation, classifying it as a shotgun under the GCA and the NFA regardless of the fact that it did not meet NFA criteria, justifying their disregard for the statute’s plain text through the use of a “Congressional intent” argument.

“[Congress] did not intend for a firearm classification under these definitions to be driven by the classification of the type of ammunition the weapon is capable of firing, as opposed to the objective design features and capabilities of the weapon itself.”

Taking advantage of the fact that shotgun shells are not defined in the NFA, the ATF then attempted to claim that its classification of the Reformation as a shotgun could, essentially, render .300 Blackout a shotgun shell based solely on the fact that it is fired from that gun, but the mental gymnastics did not end there.

What followed was an argument from the ATF requesting that deference be granted by the court in its interpretation of the GCA and NFA because of what the agency describes as “a high level of technical expertise” required for firearm classification. Franklin Armory and FRAC rejected the ATF’s absence of reason, reminding the court of the serious criminal consequences associated with NFA and GCA violations and that criminal statutes are not entitled to deference. This would be an easy decision for the court as agency deference has already been overruled by the United States Supreme Court, with the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) directing courts to “interpret constitutional and statutory provisions,” which “makes clear that agency interpretations of statutes—like agency interpretations of the Constitution—are not entitled to deference.” The ruling then adds that the “best reading” of a statute is “‘the reading the court would have reached’ if no agency were involved.”

Franklin Armory and FRAC also claimed that ATF's action regarding the Reformation was both arbitrary and capricious and exceeded statutory authority, all of which are grounds for an agency action to be set aside according to the APA. Judge Traynor agreed, rejecting the agency’s redefining of “smooth bore” and “fixed shotgun shells” as a shifting of the goal posts any time and only when it suited their argument.

The plaintiffs made a similar claim regarding the classification of the Antithesis.

“The Coalition presents several arguments concerning the Antithesis: ATF’s classification exceeded its authority by disregarding statutory text, the classification is arbitrary and capricious because ATF disregarded statutory text, and the classification is arbitrary and capricious because ATF failed to consider an important aspect of the problem.”

Judge Traynor ultimately rejected the ATF’s arguments, ruling in concert with the statutory text, the standard by which individuals are held to, agreeing that, as rifles are designed to fire a single cartridge and the Antithesis is designed to fire both shotgun shells and cartridges, it can therefore not be classified as a rifle. The ruling read:

“Franklin Armory presented a square peg, and ATF shoved it into a round hole. If Congress wanted ‘shotgun’ to be a catch-all category for anything that doesn’t fit ‘rifle,’ it could have done so… Congress used the terms it used. It defined them in a particular way. If Congress wants another definition, then it should amend the statute. It is not for ATF to redefine the terms because it thinks Congress didn’t intend a certain outcome. Therefore, ATF exceeded its authority in defining ‘smoothbore’ as anything lacking ‘functional rifling.’… Congress gave ATF the ability to enforce the law, not change it. Franklin Armory created a weapon that didn’t fit into the round holes made by Congress but did not give ATF authority to change the shape or size of the hole to make the Reformation fit. The separation of powers ‘is admitted on all hands to be essential to the preservation of liberty."

Travis White, President & CEO of FRAC, spoke about the significance of the ruling relative to the history of ATF’s classification abuse.

 “The ATF has egregiously abused the firearms technology classification process, and this is a landmark ruling in reining in such abuses,” according to White.

Franklin Armory President Jay Jacobson also spoke out after the victory about years worth of efforts made in vain, attempting to communicate and work with the ATF, and expressed his hopes for the future of the agency.

“We 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,” Jacobson said.

Judge Traynor granted Franklin Armory and FRAC their motion for summary judgment, giving the ATF 180 days to develop and implement a procedure for the regulation of GCA-only firearms.

Make no mistake. This case is significant not only in how it affects these particular firearms but in how it reins in the abuse exercised by the ATF in the intellectually and legally corrupt practice of interpreting and reinterpreting firearm classifications and statutory text to mean whatever they need it to mean to suit their ends.