In layman’s terms: Congress has defined what a firearm is, but when a small manufacturer created a novel firearm, the ATF tried to illegally classify it within existing law, and now keeps moving the goalpost.
Creative design, along with new technology and modern materials, has circumvented many, if not most, modern gun control measures. Beyond being an infringement of our enumerated rights, arbitrary and capricious rulemaking by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is not only far outside its legal authority, but it is also designed to stifle innovation and subject gun owners and manufacturers to uncertainty and fear of legal reprisal.
The unbelievable story that is currently unfolding between innovator Franklin Armory and the ATF illustrates this point with uncomfortable acuity.
Chapter 1 – The Idea
The first chapter of the story unfolds in 2019 when Nevada-based Franklin Armory created a new type of firearm that circumvented all the neat, little shoebox category classifications that Congress has created to limit, infringe, and restrict firearms ownership, either through categorical Gun Control Act (GCA) bans, or restrictive National Firearms Act (NFA) tax stamp and registration requirements.
The “Reformation” — and its brother, the “Antithesis” — are firearms with a unique design, which we will explore in a moment. Whether or not either is practical or has significant potential in the marketplace is irrelevant to this article. What is significant is that the designs are so unique that the ATF did not know what to do with them, which was almost entirely the point, as inferred from the product names.
Franklin Armory submitted a sample of the Reformation for examination to the ATF, and much to its chagrin, the ATF admitted this was new territory, writing in their 2019 open letter, “The Franklin Armory Reformation is the first firearm produced and sold by an FFL that ATF has classified as a GCA/SBS.” (GCA/SBS stands for “Gun Control Act/Short Barreled Shotgun,” a term invented by the ATF to cover this unique category of firearm.)
The ATF attempted to clarify further by writing, “Given these determinations, the Reformation is classified as a shotgun that is subject only to the provisions of the GCA (i.e., it is not a weapon subject to the provisions of the NFA).”
How did the ATF arrive at this determination?
The AR-style Reformation is designed with a barrel (chambered in 5.56) featuring straight lands and grooves — contrasting with conventional spiral rifling — that does not impart spin onto projectiles. The ATF concluded “the Reformation is not a ‘rifle’ as that term is defined in the GCA and NFA. Moreover, because the Reformation is not chambered for shotgun shells, it is not a shotgun as defined in the NFA.” The definition of “shotgun” for federal law purposes is limited to firearms with smooth bores. Of course, they could not leave this firearm unregulated, so they classified it in a new, restricted category they called “GCA/SBS.”
Since short barrels invoke a whole other category of regulated firearms, the ATF added this clarification:
Under the provisions of the GCA, if a Reformation firearm is equipped with a barrel that is less than 18 inches in overall length, that firearm is classified as a short-barreled shotgun (SBS).
With the classification under its belt, the ATF now had to address transfers and possession.
Because GCA/SBS firearms have not previously been available in the marketplace, existing federal firearm regulations do not provide a mechanism to process or approve requests from FFLs for approval to transfer a GCA/SBS to a non-licensee…
Until it could develop new procedures and forms, it offered the following advice regarding GCA/SBS firearms possession and transfer:
- An FFL may lawfully sell/transfer a GCA/SBS, such as the Reformation, to the holder of an appropriate FFL.
- An FFL may not lawfully transfer a Reformation configured as a GCA/SBS to a non-licensee (in other words, no sales to non-FFLs or individuals).
- The possessor or owner of a GCA/SBS, such as the Reformation, may not lawfully transport the firearm across state lines.
Similarly, the Antithesis — a conventionally rifled, short-barreled firearm designed to fire .410 bore shotshells, slugs, and .45 Colt cartridges — was classified as an SBR under the GCA and NFA.
Et voila! With no congressional oversight, the ATF attempted to shoehorn newly created, novel firearms into existing categories, promising to provide further guidance and rules, while issuing a letter that, for all intents and purposes, inferred criminal penalties for non-compliance. Never mind that the small print footnote of the letter read:
This is a guidance document that does not have the force or effect of law. It is not a final agency action, has no legally binding effect…
It is no wonder that when it comes to firearms, the actions of unelected regulatory agencies generate more questions than answers, frustrate the process, and put American designers, manufacturers, and consumers on edge regarding questions of legality.
Chapter 2 – The Legal Challenge
Franklin Armory took the ATF to court over these classifications, filing a case known as Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition, Inc., and Franklin Armory, Inc. v. Garland in the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota in January 2023. The complaint alleged, “two instances of regulatory gamesmanship by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (‘ATF’) designed to evade Congress’s scheme to regulate firearms in the United States.”
The case generated a complex interplay within the court system with a series of motions, concluding at the district court level in February 2025, with a summary judgment in favor of Franklin Armory that vacated the ATF’s classifications of the Reformation and Antithesis firearms, finding them unlawful under the Administrative Procedures Act.
Judge Traynor wrote, “Congress gave ATF the ability to enforce the law, not change it. Franklin Armory created a weapon that does not fit into the round holes made by Congress, but that does not give ATF authority to change the shape or size of the hole to make the Reformation fit,” adding, “Administrative agencies need to remember they are in the executive branch and leave legislating to Congress.”
Then the federal government, under Pam Bondi and the new administration, filed an appeal to the judgment in the Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. However, following President Trump’s February 2025 executive order reviewing “ongoing infringements of Second Amendment rights,” the DOJ and ATF finally abandoned the appeal and settled with the plaintiffs.
In August 2025, after the appeal proceedings, Judge Traynor issued an amended decision affirming the earlier February decision.
(It is quite probable that the only reason the DOJ and ATF chose not to pursue this case further is because of the timely executive order from President Trump addressing protecting the Second Amendment. As noted above, from the outset, the Bondi Justice Department was happy to challenge the victory that Franklin Armory was awarded at the district court.)
Check out our Pam Bondi Second Amendment Action Tracker and Ratings here.
Chapter 3 – The Settlement
The ATF published a new open letter on August 29, 2025 (which formally served as the settlement), stating that its purpose was to rescind its 2019 open letter and advise “…FFLs on the classification of the Franklin Armory Reformation and Antithesis firearms under federal law.”
Here is how it defined the current status of the Reformation:
In other words, as a result of the Agreement, the Reformation is not a short-barreled shotgun, short-barreled rifle, nor is it an NFA firearm; therefore, (i) no NFA forms are necessary to sell, transfer, transport, deliver, or otherwise deal in or possess the Reformation, and (ii) no ATF Form 5320.20, Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National NFA Firearms, is necessary to transport the Reformation across state lines because the firearm is not subject to 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(4) or (b)(4).
And the Antithesis:
As a result of the Agreement, the Antithesis is not a rifle, short-barreled rifle, nor is it an NFA firearm; therefore, (i) no NFA forms are necessary to sell, transfer, transport, deliver, or otherwise deal in or possess the Antithesis, and (ii) no ATF Form 5320.20, Application to Transport Interstate or to Temporarily Export Certain National NFA Firearms, is necessary to transport the Antithesis across state lines because the firearm is not subject to 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(4) or (b)(4).
In summary, the memo directed that Reformation and Antithesis are simply categorized as “firearms” (but are not rifles or shotguns), and when transferring these firearms, FFLs should utilize the “other firearm” category on ATF Form 4473.
Franklin Armory welcomed the open letter in a website statement on August 29, 2025, crediting, in part, the Trump Administration’s aforementioned executive order. “This Open Letter formally reaffirms what we have known to be true all along: Reformation can only be classified as a standard ‘firearm’ under the Gun Control Act (GCA) and is completely exempt from the National Firearms Act (NFA),” the company stated.
On September 18, free from the limitations of the ATF’s stifling and illegal categorizations, Franklin Armory released 5.56 NATO-chambered Antithesis models, with 7.5-inch, 12-inch, and 12.5-inch barrel lengths.
The press release stated, “Franklin Armory’s Antithesis features a rifled barrel, yet is free and clear from any NFA restrictions due to its unique characteristic of being designed and intended to fire both single and multiple projectile fixed cartridges.” The release also stated that Franklin Armory was “offering licensing rights to other manufacturers.”
Sales of the new class of rifled, short-barreled firearms likely surged, and no doubt the ATF noticed. AmmoLand recently reported that sources at the ATF were concerned about the import and export of the firearm.
Chapter 4 – The ATF Strikes Back
Unsurprisingly, the ATF was not finished with Franklin Armory or its new category of firearms. On September 19, 2025, Franklin Armory issued a separate statement regarding 5.56 caliber Antithesis firearms, revealing that the ATF had privately requested a voluntary recall ahead of a new classification.
“Out of an abundance of caution… we are voluntarily requesting all of our customers to return their 5.56 caliber Antithesis firearms for a full refund,” the statement read. The company emphasized this does not affect the Reformation, the .410/.45LC Antithesis, or other models. “Be assured, this will not be the final chapter on Antithesis,” Franklin affirmed.
The next chapter remains to be written, but we will continue to follow this story.
