NRA warns of ATF’s gun control proposal, which unjustly criminalizes those selling firearms to family members or friends

12/21/2023 / By Belle Carter

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has proposed a gun-control bill that could “unjustly criminalize” Americans for selling a firearm, the National Rifle Association (NRA) is saying.

The largest U.S. gun rights group said last week that the ATF2022R-17 proposed amending and broadening the definition of when a person is deemed to have been “engaged in the business” of being a firearms dealer other than a gunsmith or pawn-broker. It included the expansion of how firearms “dealer” would be defined, which would be “anyone who sells or offers for sale firearms and also represents to potential buyers or otherwise demonstrates a willingness and ability to purchase and sell additional firearms.” It would also include people who sell guns for services, property, or anything other than cash.

The rule’s summary stated on the Federal Register indicated that the proposal would create a stand-alone definition of “terrorism” and would clarify what it means for a person to be “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms and to have the intent to “predominantly earn a profit” from the sale or disposition of firearms.

“The rule would be just another attempt to demolish our Second Amendment rights, with the potential to unjustly criminalize everyday Americans for engaging in lawful firearm transactions,” NRA official Randy Kozuch told Fox News. “This rule blatantly disregards the recent NRA-backed Bruen ruling on the Second Amendment. It also creates serious confusion among lawful gun owners who buy and sell firearms legally for various purposes, from collecting to self-defense.”

The Biden ATF’s proposed rule, ATF2022R-17, is just another attempt to demolish our Second Amendment rights, with the potential to unjustly criminalize everyday Americans for engaging in lawful firearm transactions.@EmmColt/@FoxNews ?? https://t.co/3rIJaj1bLd pic.twitter.com/nfzdrZxpoI

— NRA (@NRA) December 13, 2023

In a previous statement, the advocacy group stated that the agency doesn’t have the resources nor the intent to handle the massive increase in Federal Firearms Licenses that the proposed rule would result in if its terms were adopted. “The proposal is a transparent attempt to strong-arm Internet service providers, gun shows, technology platforms and other facilitators to abandon any involvement in private gun sales with vague threats of ‘administrative action’ for non-compliance,” the statement added. “Meanwhile, the cartels, gang members, firearm smugglers and violent sociopaths Congress had in mind when passing the law that supposedly enables the proposal will be entirely unaffected.”

According to Kozuch, if President Joe Biden’s government is truly serious about fighting crime, they would instead strengthen existing laws and reform their soft-on-crime policies to target actual criminals instead of law-abiding American gun owners.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and the coalition of Republican attorneys general echo the sentiment in their letter to the ATF, pointing to the unconstitutionality of the rule. “The proposed rule is violating the Second Amendment by making any individual who sells a firearm without a federal license liable to civil, administrative, or even criminal penalties,” said a Dec. 7 news release from Knudsen’s office.

The said rule was proposed in August and was open to comment from Sept. 9, when 350,000 people posted public comments on the Regulations.gov website. The public comment period on the rule ended Dec. 7.

Biden’s admin also proposed to require firearms dealers to conduct background checks

Back on March 14, Biden directed Attorney General Merrick Garland via an executive order to develop a plan clarifying the definition of who is engaged in the business of dealing firearms, requiring them to obtain a federal firearms license. ATF would then require those who sell firearms online or at gun shows to be licensed. They would also run background checks on buyers before completing the transaction. The said rule was estimated to affect 24,500 to 328,000 sellers, targeting those in the business of selling guns and not with personal gun collections, the Associated Press reported.

“The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was passed by Congress to reduce gun violence, including by expanding the background checks that keep guns out of the hands of criminals,” Garland said. “This proposed rule implements Congress’ mandate to expand the definition of who must obtain a license and conduct a background check before selling firearms.”

Meanwhile, an AP-NORC poll held Aug. 10-14, 2023, found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats are in favor of stricter gun laws, compared to just a third of Republicans. It also concluded that more than three-quarters of the 1,165 adults polled nationwide think preventing mass shootings and reducing gun violence is important, and most believe restricting gun access would result in fewer mass shootings, murders and violent crime. Republicans, though, remain unconvinced that restricting gun access would result in fewer mass shootings and less violent crime, the poll found. (Related: Elon Musk says “armed citizens vital for democracy’s defense,” causing gun control activists to lose their minds.)

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