U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Before the Biden-Harris administration took over the White House, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives usually revoked an average of 40 Federal Firearm Licenses (FFLs) per year. But, in the 11 months since Joe Biden declared war on “rogue gun dealers,” the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs – an increase of more than 500%. However, rather than targeting the true rogues, Biden’s ATF is revoking FFLs for the most minor of paperwork errors, which were never a concern for the ATF until Biden weaponized the agency.
“This has nothing to do with the ATF and everything to do with the DOJ,” said John Clark of FFL Consultants. Clark is a firearm industry expert who said the ATF announced the number of revocations at a recent Firearm Industry Conference.
“The vast majority of the ATF don’t like this any more than the industry does,” he said. “It’s Biden.”
Clark and business partner John Bocker crisscross the country to help gun dealers fight back against Biden’s overreach – a service that is free to all members of the National Shooting Sports Foundation. Their mantra is: “Get it right the first time.”
“Our goal is to prevent an incident from occurring,” Bocker has said. “Our goal is prevention – get it right the first time. We are the proactive and preventative arm of the NSSF.”
Nowadays, they’re extremely busy. “I had three revocation hearings last week,” Clark said.
Key to the massive increase in revocations is Biden’s zero-tolerance for willful violations policy, which Clark said relies upon a new definition of willful. If a dealer makes a simple mistake, they can now lose their license, because the new definition of willful states that the dealer knew the law, but willfully chose to violate it anyway – regardless of whether it was an oversight, an error by an employee or a simple paperwork mistake.
“They have twisted negligence into willful,” Clark said. “These are not uncommon errors that we’re seeing. Things happen.”
On paper, Biden’s new policy seems clear:
Absent extraordinary circumstances that would need to be justified to the Director, ATF will seek to revoke the licenses of dealers the first time that they violate federal law by willfully.
- Transferring a firearm to a prohibited person
- Failing to run a required background check
- Falsifying records, such as a firearms transaction form
- Failing to respond to an ATF tracing request
- Refusing to permit ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law
However, Clark and Bocker are seeing these rules pushed far beyond the realm of common sense or fairness, and local gun dealers are paying the price.
For example, the transaction number for a NICS background check requires nine digits. If a gun dealer mistakenly omits a number, their license can be revoked for failing to run a background check. Under the Biden-Harris administration, there is no longer any room for human error.
Similarly, the ATF has started contracting out its trace requests, Clark said. He and Bocker have talked to a dealer whom the ATF accused of not complying with a trace request. They fault, they found, actually belonged to the ATF, which hadn’t updated its records from the contractors. Until this was clarified, the dealer was at risk of losing everything.
Their firm offers a free webinar for gun dealers, which addresses Biden’s policy.
ATF Breaking Federal Law
Biden first announced his zero-tolerance policy for “rogue gun dealers” in June of last year. He claimed these dealers were responsible for skyrocketing violent crime rates in major cities historically controlled by Democrats.
The violence wasn’t caused by weak prosecutors who refuse to hold criminals accountable, or gangs or underfunded police departments or by any combination thereof, he said. It was all the fault of “rogue gun dealers,” who Biden claimed willfully transfer firearms to prohibited persons, and/or refuse to cooperate with a tracing request from the ATF.
To vet Biden’s rogue gun dealer theory, the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project immediately sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ATF, seeking the following:
Copies of documents that show the number of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and their state of residence, who have been prosecuted for willfully transferring a firearm to a prohibited person over the past three years (from June 23, 2018 to June 23, 2021.)
Copies of documents that show the number of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and their state of residence, who have been prosecuted for ignoring and/or refusing to cooperate with a tracing request from the BATFE, over the past three years (from June 23, 2018 to June 23, 2021.)
(Note: We did not seek the names or other identifiers of any FFL.)
We’re still waiting for a response.
In the 11 months since the FOIA request was filed, the ATF has not complied with the law. The ATF is in a trick-bag of sorts. They can comply with federal law and provide the documents, which will likely reveal that Biden’s rogue gun dealer policy is just a ruse, or they can continue to deny and delay the FOIA request even though their actions violate federal law.
Takeaways
If there is a dealer who transfers firearms to prohibited persons, fails to conduct background checks and ignores requests from the ATF to help trace firearms used in a crime, they should lose their FFL. I don’t know anyone who disagrees with that. However, these are not the type of dealers the ATF is targeting at Biden’s behest. The Biden-Harris administration has ordered the ATF to revoke FFLs for even the most minor of paperwork errors, solely to support its rogue-dealer myth.
There is no doubt Biden will soon hold a press conference touting the effectiveness of his zero-tolerance policy and the hundreds of “rogue gun dealers” whose licenses were revoked as a result. What he won’t mention is that none of the dealers who lost their livelihoods contributed to the skyrocketing violent crime rates of major metros. They were simply law-abiding men and women who made a minor paperwork error, which Biden has now criminalized as part of his ongoing war on our guns.
This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.
About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
When it comes to the ATF please dont credit Joe Biden he is not capable of determining what he had for dinner last night. Rogue gun dealer what does that mean? you’re either licensed or not to sell or transfer firearms through your FFL. In any company or private business record keeping is part of the job the federal government itself might be the worst at doing this correctly. We have all read about the purchases of items for thousands of dollars that should of cost a couple of bucks at the local hardware store by government employees. The problem… Read more »
This regime is doing what it does best. Killing small businesses.
Also restricting rights and generally running rampant over a too willing population and Congress by means of an out of control and mostly illegal bureaucracy.
killing small business makes more people dependent on the government.
time to revoke atf ,and jail every last one
If only we could revoke Biden and his lawless administration
We can Skipper. The first step is non-democrat party control of House and Senate. Then we will have the tools.
If we can guarantee a fair election in November 2022 that would turn the tide.
The democrats are proving that the law means nothing to them election fraud is and should be our biggest concern.
Remember it never happened as millions of Americans witnessed this in 2020 and have been told it never happened.
The office of Disinformation under HLS just in time for the Midterms
I’ve seen a lot of Scum in my time but Joe Biden is Scum of the lowest order! He’s not worth the Powder to blow him to Hell!
Yes, he is scum, but Biden is scum that does not know where he is or what is going on around him. The real scum is the marxists puppet masters.
Hey, my new bike arrived yesterday.
Let’s go Brandon #FJB , we still have private sales in Montana so Joe and the ATF can blow it out thier blow hole ! SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED ! Got it clowns ?
You still have private sales anywhere both parties keep their mouths shut.
Yes, here in Texas, I’ve seen many yard sales with a firearm or two. No one seems concerned.
Maybe there should be a war on “rogue ATF agents.” Once the new receiver definitions, arm brace score cards, and 80% rules become effective, maybe. Unchecked, tyranny continues to grow.
We all know this has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING with public safety. This is solely about drying the places where “We The People” can buy a firearm! Period, end of discussion!
“That is why our masters in Washington are so anxious to disarm us. They are not afraid of criminals. They are afraid of a populace which cannot be subdued by tyrants. ” – the late COL Jeff Cooper.
Gotta be a way for local police or sheriff to just lock up these willful fed.gov commie puppets when they show up at these private businesses.
Of course, if you are a 5th generation indoctrinated gun-fearing commie sympathizer wearing a uniform, that could be problematic.
America – used to stand for something. I remember those days.
The American Revolution:
“The defense of one’s self, justly called the primary law of nature, is not, nor can it be abrogated by any regulation of municipal law. This principle of defense is not confined merely to the person; it extends to the liberty and the property of a man, it extends to the person of every one, who is in danger; perhaps, to the liberty of every one, whose liberty is unjustly and forcibly attacked.” —James Wilson (1791)
government is so off the rails needs a major overhaul ….god forgive maybe ww3 is what we need to fix it
If the rank in file ATF people don’t like it, QUIT! If you enforce THUGGISH draconian EDICTS (not properly passed laws) then YOU ARE A WILLING PARTNER in that THUGGERY. Any LEO that will enforce ILLEGAL and UNCONSTITUTIONAL rules does so willingly and doesn’t give half a damn about YOUR RIGHTS! They have chosen a side and its the WRONG SIDE! I have zero respect for anyone who willingly tramples the rights of others!
Let me start with if I was able to do this I would. Now, I’d go in the name of law abiding citizen, ask for everyone that is with me to meet me at a certain place on the west side of B’ham, AL. Anyone coming from west lower part of the USA to me in 5 days at the named place. All people that wanted to join us to be at a named place close to DC. All that gathered or meet at this place would go the White House to make citizens arrests of all tyranny in the… Read more »
the white house has stinger missiles on the roof unless they have upgraded to something better
Corporate Fascism control on display openly for all to see. “The enemy isn’t who oppose us, the enemy is what MAKES them oppose us.” “Hurt me with the truth. But never comfort me with a lie.” Those in LE who passively participate including ATF/FBI/LEA et alia are simply going along to get along picking up a paycheck & complicit going along. No different that in context or concept than Doctors who advocated & administered an experimental VaXXine of mRNA therapy experiment. This and no other is the root from which a tyrant springs; when he first appears he is a… Read more »
The enemy is communist China they have been empowered by our own government and corporate America. Make no mistake over 5 million reside in our country. We are now wittiness to the control they wield over our economy under the worst president in the history of the United States. The democratic party sold out under Obama and continues to pledge its allegiance to the Chinese Communist Party. The largest terrorist attack in history committed by those working with the Chinese in the democratic party. Klaus Schwab, the World Economic Forum’s Founder and Executive Chairman, thanked China for taking an active… Read more »
PUBLISH ALL .gov employee / parasite home addresses as a condition of receiving a citizen funded salary
they are welfare recipients of the worst kind.
Yeah, those guys with the US Marshals who run down sex offenders are the worst. Aren’t they?