Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Justice
Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit · No. 24-1881
⚖️Procedural — no merits ruling
Decided on mootness after ATF withdrew the challenged advisory; no ruling on standing or the merits.
GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.
What the court held
Gun Owners of America and a Michigan gun buyer sued to stop ATF from enforcing a 2020 advisory telling dealers that Michigan concealed-pistol licenses no longer substituted for a federal NICS background check. While the appeal was pending, ATF issued a May 2025 advisory superseding the earlier one and again listing Michigan licenses as an acceptable Brady Act alternative. The Sixth Circuit held the case moot, rejecting arguments based on voluntary cessation and conduct capable of repetition yet evading review, and vacated the district court's dismissal for lack of standing with instructions to dismiss as moot.
Summarized from the court's opinion.
Key Dates
- 2025-10-30 — Decided
- 2025-10-27 — Argued
Sources
- CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-08
Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.