Biden, ATF Set Sights on Banning Private Gun Sales with New Rules: Report
Most gun owners can forget about selling their privately owned firearms to friends or family, if a new federal rule planned by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms comes to pass.
The agency is planning on enacting a new rule that would bar gun owners from selling firearms for a profit without a Federal Firearms License, according to an agency leak verified by AmmoLand on Monday.
The Biden administration is seeking to enact the rule in 2024 — without new legislation from Congress.
The federal government plans to use the existing Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, gun control legislation signed into law last year, to justify cracking down on private gun sales.
Some Republicans supported the law — despite the objections of Second Amendment advocates.
Previously, only those who derived their “chief livelihood” from trade in firearms were legally obligated to possess an FFL, according to The New York Times.
Under the BSCA, individuals trading guns “to predominantly earn a profit” are defined as “gun sellers” — a development that the federal government intends to use to restrict most firearms sales to FFL licensees.
Yet another example of Fudds giving the Disarmament Regime all that it wanted in last year’s BSCA.
And naturally, the ATF is looking to take full advantage.
We see you…👀…🖨️ pic.twitter.com/IMLsS8HEbA
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) August 11, 2023
The measure would heavily impact online marketplaces in which gun owners trade firearms — preventing them from selling the guns for more than they purchased them for.
Everyday gun owners — many of them unaware of a change in the law — could even be criminally charged for selling guns without the proper licensing after the rule takes effect.
Gun sales would be concentrated among the limited number of FFL licensees under the idea, potentially raising prices for purchasers, as well.
The Department of Justice and ATF officials working together to draft the rule, according to the Times.
Federal officials are eyeing the second half of 2024 to formally enact it.
President Joe Biden criticized online trade in firearms as a candidate, pledging to ban the practice entirely — although by legislation, rather than an executive order urging a federal agency to reinterpret an existing law.
BIDEN: “You go to a gun show, you can buy whatever you want–no background check.” pic.twitter.com/TbvfDPEwlp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 8, 2021
It’s likely an administrative attempt to clamp the market in private gun sales will meet legal challenges.
The ATF’s bid to regulate pistol braces was shot down by a federal appeals court earlier this month, according to Just the News.
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