News Releases

Attorney General Griffin Celebrates Appeals Court Decision in Lawsuit Over Biden-Harris Pistol Brace Rule

Griffin: ‘I will continue to fight for the 2nd Amendment rights of Arkansans and against the arbitrary-and-capricious rules of the Biden-Harris administration’

LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin today issued the following statement regarding the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit to reverse a lower court ruling denying a preliminary injunction in Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc. v. Garland:

“This is a victory for the rights of Americans and the rule of law as the Eighth Circuit concluded that our lawsuit is likely to succeed. This ruling brings us one step closer to stopping this unconstitutional rule.

“This is yet another attempt to rewrite the laws Congress has passed. The new rule defines a pistol with a stabilizing brace as a short-barreled rifle, thus increasing federal regulation and putting Americans at risk of fines, forfeiture, and felony conviction. I will continue to fight for the 2nd Amendment rights of Arkansans and against the arbitrary-and-capricious rules of the Biden-Harris administration.”

Arkansas is a member of a coalition of private entities and state attorneys general in the lawsuit. States include West Virginia, North Dakota, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming.

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About Attorney General Tim Griffin

Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.

Griffin has served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years and currently holds the rank of colonel. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.

He is currently serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana. His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Liberty (née Bragg), North Carolina, and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.

Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.

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