WORLD WIDE WEB -- On June 24, 2002, Judge Reggie B. Walton, Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) motion to the NAR and TRA's civil lawsuit against ATF. ATF's dismissal motion sought to remove Counts 1, 2 and 4 from the litigation.

Our counts contended that:

• ATF has not properly determined that APCP functions by explosion,
• ATF's explosives list improperly published without legally appropriate notice and comment rulemaking, and
• ATF's 62.5 gram limit for exemption from regulation was arbitrary in both its selection and promulgation.

Judge Walton's ruling states, "ATF's motion to dismiss counts one and four of the amended complaint is denied and granted as to count two on statute of limitations grounds." This ruling means that four of our five counts in the litigation remain before the Court to be decided. Count 2, the explosive list publication, was removed due to the statute of limitations being passed; the initial explosives list was published in 1971 and our suit was brought more than six years after that time. However, Judge Walton's ruling also contains a clear message for U.S. federal agencies to follow the proper procedures when promulgating regulatory rules. Quoting again from the Court's ruling:

"It is the Court's conclusion that ATF's pronouncements concerning the non-exempt status of sport rocket motors that use more than 62.5 grams of APCP amount to rulemaking... There being no claim that notice and opportunity for comment were afforded, ATF's motion to dismiss count four of the amended complaint must be denied."

Thus, ATF's arguments against our most important and critical positions have been denied, and our case remains largely intact." We will be obtaining a complete electronic version of the Court's decision to be posted to our respective websites for your review. While our case obviously has strong legal merits, without the continued and excellent effort of our legal team, Joe Egan, John Kyte, John Lawrence and Marty Malsch, we would not have progressed this far. Association members should be justifiably proud of the extremely capable effort your team has put forth to secure an unregulated sport rocket hobby. Our thanks for the quality effort expended by our counsel.

Even though this ruling is not a final victory for us, it is a major step towards securing the future of our hobby. Now you can continue the push toward that ultimate goal. If you want to see this effort and success continue, you can do so easily by making donations online to the legal fund. Your contributions are absolutely essential for our effort to succeed. We urge you to make a donation to the Legal Defense Fund today, in whatever amount you possibly can contribute. Your support and generosity will be recognized and acknowledged, and you'll be able to say, "I supported the fight for an unregulated sport rocket hobby." As we have further developments, we'll report them here and in our publications as soon as possible.

Mark B. Bundick Bruce E. Kelly
NAR President TRA President