Montana AG Austin Knudsen to sue Biden administration over gun executive order
Republican Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen is prepping a lawsuit against the Biden Administration over its gun violence executive order, saying the president "should know better" than to enact "draconian gun control measures."
Three small business owners are challenging a federal agency, which was expanded under the Biden administration and charged with supporting minority-owned businesses, claiming it violates the Constitution’s core requirement of equal treatment under the law.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the lawsuit on behalf of Jeffrey Nuziard, Matthew Piper and Christian Brucker against the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), which serves "minority business enterprises (MBEs) owned and operated by African Americans, Asian Americans, Hasidic Jews, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans and Pacific Islanders."
The agency was created part of a presidential executive order in the 1960s, and permanently authorized through the Infrastructure Act in 2021. All three plaintiffs have sought to use the MBDA to support their businesses, but have been unable to do so because of their race, according to the lawsuit.
Christian Bruckner, a Romanian immigrant to the United States, owns a contracting company in Florida. When Bruckner reached to the MBDA to inquire about federal assistance, he was told the agency's focus is "to help grow businesses owned by people of ethnic minorities." Instead, he was directed to a private company, where he would have had to pay for assistance, according to the lawsuit.
Florida small business owner Christian Bruckner. (Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty)
"I came to the United States in the 1970s because of the belief that America is the freest nation on earth," Bruckner said. "And that no matter who you are, what you are, or where you came from, you can do anything. That’s what we are fighting for and I am proud to stand alongside WILL in pursuit of true equality for all."
"America must continue to advance towards a colorblind society where every person is judged on their merit and not the color of their skin," WILL Deputy Counsel, Dan Lennington, said in a press release. "The Biden Administration’s choice to create this race-based agency is a step back for civil rights, and we aim to correct that misstep."
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Another plaintiff in the lawsuit, Jeffrey Nuziard, is a U.S. Army veteran from the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area, who owns and operates Sexual Wellness Centers of Texas, which currently has two locations but is planning to expand to more locations in the future.
Jeffrey Nuziard is one of three plaintiffs suing the Biden administration. (WILL)
According to the lawsuit, Nuziard looked to the grants offered by the MBDA, but discovered he was ineligible due to his race.
"It's just plain offensive that President Biden set up an agency devoted to helping some races, and not others," Nuziard said. "Like other small business owners, I'm working hard every day to expand my business and serve my clients. I just wish the Biden Administration would help all businesses in this difficult and uncertain economy, not just some based on race."
The third plaintiff Matthew Piper owns an architecture agency in Wisconsin, and like Nuziard, found he was ineligible for assistance through the MBDA due to his skin color.
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"The American dream should be afforded to all Americans regardless of skin color or cultural background," Piper said. "But what we have is a federal government picking winners and losers based on wokeism–enough is enough."
Matthew Piper is one of three small business owners suing the Biden administration over the Minority Business Development Agency. (Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty)
The lawsuit is asking the court to declare the Minority Business Development Agency unconstitutional, and preventing from imposing racial and ethnic classifications.
In July, Bruckner sued the Biden administration over race and gender quotas in the Infrastructure Act that requires 10 percent of its funding "be expended through small business concerns owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals."
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WILL has taken aim at various programs that are part of Biden’s Racial Equity Agenda through its Equality Under the Law Project, including filing a lawsuit against the Biden Administration for its Farmer Loan-Forgiveness program that canceled certain farm loans based on race and the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, which provided COVID-19 benefits to certain restaurants using racial preference.
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