WASHINGTON, District of Columbia USA — In the ongoing regulatory oversight battle heating up between the hobby rocketry organizations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the deadline of April 11th was met by the ATF requesting an extension in preparing their rebuttal. Hobby organization representatives agreed to extend the ATF's response time by 21 days, a timeframe less than the ATF had originally asked for.

The hobby organization's case is based on a more precisely defined scope of applicable federal law, an area which up until this time, found the general public subject to whatever interpretation of the law their local ATF agent and/or office saw fit to determine.

Lack of fair and even application of the law saw individuals in similar situations being enforced in varying manners, a precedent the judicial process seems to frown upon. Case history has usually found in favor against the government agencies in cases where such practices have been widespread.

With seven days already past since the April 11th deadline, it appears the answer everyone is waiting for is as close as two weeks away — an answer that can have wide-spread impact upon a small niche hobby. If precedent is an indicator, the results tend to look very favorable.