The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has unveiled its new rule defining what is a gun dealer. The rule will not go into effect 30 days after it is posted to the Federal Register.
The ATF decided to issue a new rule on who is required to get a federal firearm license (FFL) at the behest of the Biden Administration. The Bureau claims it was granted the power to change the rule under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), passed with some Republican support. Although many gun groups warned Congress of the dangers of passing the bill, their concerns were ignored, and the significance of the bill was downplayed by Republicans like John Cornyn.
The new ATF regulation would require thousands of private sellers to get FFLs for selling as little as a single firearm.
The rule changes a dealer from someone who sells a gun with the “principal objective of livelihood and profit” to “predominantly earn a profit.” According to the new rule, the government doesn’t have to prove the gun seller intends to make a profit by selling the firearm. The rule puts the burden of proof on the accused. The seller would be “presumed” to be in business and an unlicensed dealer. Although this rule only applies to civil and administrative cases due to the presumption of innocence in criminal cases, the rule says the jury in criminal cases can be told of a person being found acting as an unlicensed dealer in a civil case, which many see as a legal loophole.
Simply advertising a gun for sale on a website, placing a sign, or putting a sign on their firearm would make them a dealer even if no money is paid to advertise. Many people attend gun shows to sell their unwanted firearms and put a barrel flag in the muzzle with a price. According to the rule, they would automatically become an unlicensed dealer. Using a service like Armslist would also make a person a gun dealer under the new rule because it specifically calls out using websites to sell firearms.
Gun owners are no longer allowed to rent tables at gun shows to sell their collections. Although most likely unrelated, the ATF recently raided the home of the executive director of an airport in a no-knock raid, shooting and killing the man for selling firearms at gun shows. It was not against regulations to sell guns at a gun show when federal agents gunned the man down.
“Based on this decades-long body of experience, the proposed rule provided that, absent reliable evidence to the contrary, a person would be presumed to have the intent to ‘predominantly earn a profit’ when the person: (1) advertises, markets, or otherwise promotes a firearms business (e.g., advertises or posts firearms for sale, including on any website; establishes a website for selling or offering for sale their firearms; makes available business cards; or tags firearms with sales prices), or otherwise secures or sets aside permanent or temporary physical space to display or store firearms they offer for sale, including part or all of a business premises, table or space at a gun show, or display case;98 (3) makes or maintains records, in any form, to document, track, or calculate profits and losses from firearms purchases and sales;99 (4) purchases or otherwise secures merchant services as a business (e.g., credit card transaction services, digital wallet for business) through which the person makes or offers to make payments for firearms transactions;100 (5) formally or informally purchases, hires, or otherwise secures business security services (e.g., a central station-monitored, security system registered to a business101 or guards for security102) to protect business assets or transactions that include firearms; (6) formally or informally establishes a business entity, trade name, or online business account, including an account using a business name on a social media or other website, through which the person makes or offers to make firearms transactions;103 (7) secures or applies for a State or local business license to purchase for resale or to sell merchandise that includes firearms; or (8) purchases a business insurance policy, including any riders that cover firearms inventory.104 Any of these firearms-business-related activities justifies a rebuttable presumption that the person has the requisite intent to predominantly earn a profit from reselling or disposing of firearms,” the rule reads.
A person will also be considered a dealer if they sell a firearm for more than they make in a specific period. If a law-abiding gun owner buys a gun in January, then loses their job the same month, they would not be able to sell their firearm to make ends meet if the amount exceeds the income that they made during the same time period because that would require them to get an FFL.
If an FFL shuts down and transfers the remaining stock into their private collection, that former FFL is forbidden from selling any of those guns for at least a year. Not only could they not sell their firearms for cash, but they could not trade for any other items since the law says trading guns for services or other items is the same as taking cash payment.
Home-based FFLs also face more significant challenges. Firearms for sale and personal guns used to be able to be stored in the same physical location if they were separated. Now, the rule expands the regulation to require each firearm from a person’s collection to be tagged with a physical tag stating that the gun is “not for sale.”
To violate this rule, a person doesn’t have to sell a gun or have the firearm in question in their possession. Merely stating that you could get a gun and sell it is enough to bring down the full force of the ATF on you. Many liken this to “Pre-Crime” in the “Minority Report” movie starring Tom Cruise.
Many see this rule as backdoor universal background checks, and multiple gun groups are planning legal challenges to the new rule.
About John Crump
John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. Mr. Crump has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
This is the process of incrementalism at its finest and is the primary means by which ALL of your natural rights have been eroded. Progressives and now New Left Progressives saw this approach as the preferred means to disestablish natural rights as the foundation of our liberty and our legal system. They have been very successful at doing so.
Which is WHY this article is TRUE today…
Communism- AMERICAN Style!
It has been coming for aa long, long time. Very true article and thanks for the link.
Yup. We have made and sold guns privately since before the country was established, and will long after CW2
And some people here think they’re too special to vote. See what we get when we disengage from the process? Get off your LazyBoy’s and get with it. There’s 206 days until the most important election in our history, we need all hands on deck. Volunteer to be a ballot/poll watcher, even the New and Improved RNC has bought in on stocking every elections office in America with trained poll watchers. I do it, so can you. Do you think for a minute somebody is going to be able to usher me, you or any other Patriot out of the… Read more »
So voting is fighting like the warriors that we were in our youth? Today? You’re deluding yourself. Did you not see what they did with our vote in 2020? THEY CRAPED ON IT. They CHEATED. They LIED. They STOLE YOUR vote. I’m not saying don’t vote. I’m saying IT MAKES NO DIFFERNCE IF THEY CAN PULL THE SAME CRAP AGAIN. Seen those how ever MILLIONS that they are going to let vote swarming our borders?
How the Democrats Plan to Steal the Election AGAIN. I hate to be the harbinger of reality…BUT…
Vote harder you mean? You’re dreaming. Democrats have perfected election theft. Thought everyone had picked up on that by now. Voting doesn’t matter.
Simply advertising a gun for sale on a website, placing a sign, or putting a sign on their firearm would make them a dealer even if no money is paid to advertise. Ok, so then are we going to be required to have a car sales license when we advertise our car for sale in the news paper or craigslist or in front of our house or the grocery store parking lot with a big fat for sale sign on it? ATF you are bullshit. Your rule is going to get the opposite reaction you are looking for. More people… Read more »
Barter system:
And you know what else, Congress need to get off their ass and defund the ATF entirely. They have beed out of control for decades and they are only getting worse.
I’m sure CON gress will rush to it.
Right now they are doing everything the stolen election lair and thief in the white house wants.
Like most of their “rules” it won’t hold water and will disappear in time. These are the issues congress is supposed to handle instead of figuring how to launder money in Ukraine
Meanwhile, citizens will be abused, arrested, locked away, and have their assets confiscated and their bank accounts drained off in legal expenses. At some point in the future, the rule will be changed if the Democrats are thrown out, but the impoverished citizen won’t get his house or savings back.
This won’t pass mustard in court. The proof of burden on the accused is against all US law!
“muster” “burden of proof” And it doesn’t matter whether it’s against anything if they do it and it’s up to you and your bank account to reverse it.
And that has been being ignored for how long? Think about Sammy Weaver, Vicky Weaver, David Koresh…yeah, right.
I got it, thanks for the laugh.
Biden and his cronies continue to be the greatest threat to freedom and democracy in the United States. Elections have consequences; election of Democrats have dire consequences for freedom in this country. They are not representatives; they are aspiring ruling class, who consider citizens as their subjects, who owe them fealty and obedience. There is no freedom in a country “ruled” by Democrats.
466 pages of bullshit designed to prevent what they can’t prevent. Government at its best.
We’ve had government at its best our whole lifetime.
THE LAW – 2024
FJB! Abolish the ATF.
Not complying with this unconstitutional rule, not today, not for the foreseeable future for my kids… f u biden
I understand your frustration, but I feel a reality check is needed for Ammoland readers. All commenters must restrain themselves from saying anything about resistance of various types – or flat out law violations. Federal agents and other LE officers read Ammoland article comments to find new lambs for slaughter – or at least investigation. This is especially true for newer agents, who are eager to get a case – any case – to get promoted, within-grade increases, cash awards, etc. No one should write Ammoland article types of comments that could cause them to be added to “The List.”… Read more »
Misprint in 2nd sentence…??? It won’t go into effect until ‘AFTER’ 30 days….???
Which means it WILL go into effect after 30 days….???
On the one hand BATFE has been working on thinning out the number of FFL holders since the Clinton administration.
On the other hand, since every gun owner is a potential gun seller, they’re now effectively inviting all of them to apply for an FFL.
So which is it, too many FFLs or too few?
Seems to me that ONE is too many. I can’t find a requirement for an FFL anywhere in the US Constitution. And no matter how you twist the commerce clause, you can’t find it there either.
I will take too few for 10 dollars Bob!
“Many see this rule as backdoor universal background checks, …“That’s is exactly what this is. This “rule” cannot be enforced “effectively” without complete registration of every firearm in civilian circulation. This “rule” has also been intentionally written to be as broad and vague as possible, leaving a lot of room for interpretation so it can be “redefined” to suit nearly any instance in which it serves their cause.This is basically the tactic the left has been using to take control of and destroy our nation for decades. One little step at a time, so most sheeple won’t even realize what’s… Read more »
So, this is basically stating that “Gun shows” would have “Collection displays”, where gun owners could display their collections and have could have a card noting history or provenance and “how much was invested” in the firearm or what price it was acquired at to join the collection. As this is how it is done in museums, this should suffice. “THIS IS NOT BE A SALE PRICE” would, of course, have to be prominently displayed on the description card. As none of these are being “advertised” nor the space procured for “sales” and merely “display”, then this would not trigger… Read more »
since when does an agency get to make up rules to fit it’s own desires?
since the voters fail to vote to keep their freedoms.
has – actually the ‘when’ is CONgress refusing to control rogue agencies and allowing them to create rules and/or regulations with NO oversight.
IMHO the biggest flaw (among many) in this new ‘rule’ is ‘fair market value’. Suppose someone bought a gun (or ‘firearm’) say 40 years ago for $X and now decides to sell it for whatever reason – it is his personal property after all. That gun was well maintained and cared for so the ‘value’ is now $XXX so by selling it he has ‘turned a profit’ so the bats would claim he is now a ‘dealer’. Could the victim prevail in court, most likely – IF he could afford to fight against the deep pockets of fedzilla.
Injunction for being stupid in a no stupid zone in 3…2…1…
WELL… THE GOOD NEWS WILL BE this should put an end to all those propagandizing GUN BUY BACK operations the libs are always conducting to rid the world of evil guns !!! Can’t wait to see the first local gov’t agency that does another Buy Back without being aware of this new law get caught. Can’t wait to watch them squirm out of getting charged for it because, you know, they are on the right side of history. Or, someone involved is related to the President or whatever excuse the anointed will dream up.
At your peril. Ask Bryan Malinowski. Oh, that’s right, you can’t. Thanks To All Tyrants Friends (ATF) a Man Died That Should Not Have…Another Insane Violation of SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED…that resulted in MURDER by Government
Let’s see……
I bought a gun several years ago for $500+tax+FFL.
I want to sell it for the same price as I bought it.
That’s NOT making a profit.
I’ve LOST money due to inflation. Especially BidenFlation.
Wanna check? I still have the receipt w/ sn. And copies (receipt originals fade over time)
It’s a rule….its not a law congressional approval is needed for it to become a bonafide legal law
This Infringement cluster***k is just wicked tyranny gone wild, running completely off the tracks and wholly unhinged. This has to stop. And the only way it stops is to be stopped.
So you are presumed to intend to make a profit if you let anyone know that you have a gun you are willing to sell which means you need a license, unless you can prove otherwise, BUT maintaining records needed to prove you didn’t make any profit also makes you a dealer who is required to have a license. Did Joseph Heller help them write this new regulation?
There is an answer that seems to be being ignored, pooh poohed, debated against, forgotten and lambasted. Even Ammo Land won’t address it. Not a single person that is a “pro second amendment” creator on Youtube including Colin Noir, Bradon of Langly Outdoors, Jared from Guns and Gadgets, Brandon Herrara, HIckock 45, Gods Gun and Country, Etc etc etc. WON’T ADDRESS IT. WHY? it’s the answer and even on here it’s pretty much ignored by commenters. With Notes of Reference to the Constitution and Laws of the Federal Government of the United States and of the Commonwealth of Virginia, as… Read more »
When will it ever sink in, that a “firearm” is NOT the same thing as a gun?? A “firearm” can be deemed to be even just a small screw or spring or other part that is used to make a gun! If you expose the fraud, you win! The reason why you will win, is because NO man or woman has the right to commit fraud or any other form of crime! No one is supposed to be above the laws, so when you point out that someone is trying to be above the laws, you have them by their… Read more »
There is a two teer system in place today. The rich and connected get off like Hunter who is still not in jail yet, and the poor plebes, surfs and peasants like the black lady that got busted for the same thing sit and rot in jail for three years.
His point is that the ATF define a firearms as he said. He wasn’t using the common definition. Is a “drop in auto sear” a machine gun? According to the ATF. Is a piece of stamped out metal with an etching on it a “machine gun”? According to the ATF it is. Get the point? THEY define a firearms as a single part. NORMAL people know the difference.