Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund v. Bureau of Alcohol

Background

The government represented the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in an Administrative Procedure Act case concerning the issuance of a federal firearms license. It was producing an administrative record of more than 700 pages to the plaintiffs.

The government requested permission to file portions of that record under seal, with redactions in the publicly available version. It identified three categories of information for protection: firearms-trace information that Congress had prohibited from public disclosure; law-enforcement information concerning investigative and enforcement procedures; and personal information, including addresses, driver’s license numbers, and credit card numbers.

The government also requested a protective order governing the plaintiffs’ use of sensitive law-enforcement records on pages ATF 712–746. It proposed that some privileged information remain redacted from the version provided to the plaintiffs and that an unredacted version be filed under seal for the court’s review. The plaintiffs consented to the government’s requests while reserving the right to challenge the redactions and seek changes to the protective order.

Ruling

Judge Andrew L. Carter, Jr. granted the government leave to file portions of the administrative record under seal. The provided text does not state that the court granted or denied the separate request for entry of a protective order.