The National Shooting Sports Foundation on Thursday called upon the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “to quickly act on President Donald Trump’s Executive Order to review and roll back unconstitutional gun control regulations and rules that were levied on the firearm industry by the previous White House administration.”
This comes after U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) led a group of 30 senators to call upon ATF to “quickly act” on Trump’s executive order.
In their three-page letter to ATF Deputy Director Marvin G. Richardson—which may be read here—the senators said, “Under former President Joe Biden, ATF adopted numerous policies and rules that infringed upon Americans’ Second Amendment protections. President Trump’s Executive Order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to review and develop a plan of action regarding President Biden’s unlawful firearms regulations. We ask that you work with the Attorney General to quickly identify and rescind these policies.”
Specifically, the letter refers to the following:
- The engaged in the business rule, which is an unconstitutional attempt to move ATF to do all it can to impose universal background checks on law-abiding Americans. ATF has been enjoined, at least temporarily, from enforcing the rule because it violated the text of the Gun Control Act.
- The pistol brace rule, which improperly reclassifies pistols equipped with stabilizing braces as “short-barreled rifles” (SBRs), thereby subjecting them to stringent regulations and serious criminal penalties under the National Firearms Act and the Gun Control Act. We are troubled by the fact that ATF promulgated this rule after it previously determined that attaching a stabilizing brace to a pistol did not render the pistol an SBR.
- The so-called “ghost gun” rule, which cracks down on law-abiding hobbyists who are exercising their Second Amendment rights to privately build firearms—a longstanding tradition that traces back to the Colonial Era. The regulations are currently before the Supreme Court, but ATF should act immediately to rescind this rule.
- The “zero tolerance” policy, under which ATF has revoked the licenses of federal firearm licensees (FFLs) over minor bookkeeping violations. This policy violates a decades-long precedent of ATF working with FFLs to address these minor, unintentional violations and revoking FFL licenses only in cases of major, willful violations that threaten public safety. ATF should develop a program to restore the federal firearms licenses of those FFLs whose licenses were unfairly revoked—or surrendered under duress—where they did not engage in willful conduct (as understood prior to June 23, 2021, when the policy was announced) and do not represent at threat to public safety.
NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Larry Keane pulled no punches in his criticism of the Biden administration’s weaponization of the ATF.
“The previous administration wielded the ATF like a hammer and anvil against the firearm industry, turning the regulatory agency into one that punished and carried out a radical gun control agenda designed to diminish Second Amendment rights. President Donald Trump – along with Senator John Cornyn and these dozens of other senators – are righting the ship and returning ATF to its mandated role as a law enforcement agency focused on combatting violent crime and to act as a non-partisan regulator of the firearm industry,” Keane said. “The rules specifically identified by the senators were designed to punish the firearm industry and usher in gun control outside of the legislative process. NSSF has protested these rules ever since they were announced and is heartened that the Trump administration and the Senate are acting quickly to protect Second Amendment rights and the lawful firearm industry. NSSF encourages ATF to act quickly on Senator Cornyn’s letter and enact these reforms to roll back unconstitutional overreaches brought by the Biden administration.”
The NSSF announcement comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi has reportedly dismissed longtime ATF General Counsel Pamela Hicks, who has been with the agency for 23 years, according to the Washington Post. The significance of Hicks’ departure was underscored by the reaction from Brady United, the gun prohibition lobbying group named for the late James Brady, press secretary to President Ronald Reagan, who was wounded and disabled in an attempt on Reagan’s life in early 1981.
“This administration’s latest move clearly demonstrates its willingness to capitulate to gun lobby interests at the expense of public safety,” said Brady President Kris Brown. “The American people deserve leadership at ATF that will vigorously enforce our nation’s gun laws and hold bad actors accountable — not industry insiders who will protect gun manufacturer profits over American lives. The position must be filled by someone committed to public safety, not industry profits.”
