Just days before leaving office on January 20, the Biden Administration quietly reversed its harmful “zero-tolerance” policy of revoking federal firearms licenses from gun dealers for minor paperwork errors.
According to a report from Foxnews.com, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives reversed the rule following a lawsuit filed by a Texas firearms retailer. That FFL holder, Michael Cargill, argued that the policy hindered the right to own firearms.
The lawsuit was filed with backing from the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and America First Legal (AFL). The TPPF stated that random, honest mistakes, such as a buyer entering “USA” in the “country” field, have led to some gun dealers losing their FFLs.
“Many gun stores have been forced to close due to the illegal terms of the old enforcement order,” Matt Miller, a senior TPPF attorney and lead attorney on the case, told Fox News. “The new order effectively restores the old enforcement guidance, which means gun stores don’t have to live in fear of honest mistakes.”
If the name Cargill sounds familiar, it’s probably because it’s the same Michael Cargill who sued the federal government over the bump stock ban. In that case, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Cargill and overturned the ban.
“There are 100 different ways for customers to make mistakes on the paperwork when you walk into a gun store,” Cargill told Fox News. “In this terminology, if we were to allow them to go in and inspect hospitals, and they say, ‘They made a mistake in the hospital.’ Whether it’s the doctor, the radiology, they made a mistake. We’re going to shut the entire hospital down. That’s insane.
“No one does that. No other industry is put under that type of pressure.”
The policy was part of former President Biden’s broader focus on weaponizing the ATF against American gun owners and dealers. Several executive orders concerning firearms were also part of the Biden Administration’s effort to undermine the Second Amendment.
Gun owners shouldn’t give the Biden administration too much credit for reversing the policy. It’s likely that President Trump would have quickly ended the restrictive enforcement upon taking office anyway.
After Monday’s inauguration, gun-rights groups are closely watching to see which gun-related changes implemented during the Biden era will be reversed by President Trump and his cabinet. We will continue to report on the highly anticipated, gun-friendly presidency as it develops in the coming days and weeks.
