n this country, and at every state level, we have three branches of government: The executive, the legislative, and the judicial.

These three branches are supposed to keep one another in check. There are mechanisms put in place to try to make sure that happens. We call these “checks and balances,” and it’s a big chunk of why our republic has survived as long as it has.

Now, you probably already know all this. You learned it in high school government class, if not before then.

Want to know who didn’t learn it? Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.

Governor Charlie Baker on Monday defended his administration’s role in a legal battle over firearm licenses, arguing the state was required to tell local police chiefs that hundreds of people should have their permits revoked at the urging of federal officials.

But the stance continues to meet resistance at the district court level, where at least seven judges — including two last week — have ordered that gun licenses be reinstated, with one dismissing the reliance on the state’s legal position as “capricious.”

The issue has drawn new attention since the Globe reported that the state was resisting orders from judges who charged that officials had overstepped their legal authority by urging local officials to pull the gun licenses of roughly 340 people, some of whom were convicted of misdemeanors decades ago.

Despite the court orders, the administration has refused to reinstate the licenses, potentially exposing the state to litigation.

Baker argues that he’s following instructions from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which supposedly informed him that the state had been doing it wrong.