FIRST ON FOX: A Second Amendment advocacy group filed suit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on the agency’s “zero tolerance” policy for closing down gun stores.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed a lawsuit against the ATF on Tuesday over the agency’s tough inspection guidelines for federal firearms licensees (FFLs) starting in January 2022 that make it easier to revocation of a gun shop’s federal license.
“This zero-tolerance policy toward legal commerce guaranteed by the Second Amendment is just the latest example of this administration weaponizing federal agencies against their political enemies,” GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt told Fox News Digital.
ATF INTERNAL DOCUMENTS SHOW ‘ZERO TOLERANCE’ GUIDELINES FOR CLOSING GUN STORES
“It’s also just one more compelling piece of evidence to support gun owners’ demands that Congress define the ATF,” Pratt added.
Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) board member Sam Paredes told Fox News Digital that “it’s ridiculous that good people trying to make an honest living face this assault on their livelihood simply because of minor paperwork errors.”
“GOF is proud to lend our support in defense of Bridge City Ordnance and all those small businesses that face devastating consequences if this Administration’s hostility to firearms is allowed to go unchecked,” he say Paredes.
On Tuesday, the GOA filed the Morehouse Enterprises v. ATF (II) lawsuit, following the first lawsuit filed by North Dakota gun store Morehouse Enterprises and supported by the Second Amendment advocacy group over the frame rule and the receiver of the Biden administration, also known as the phantom gun rule.
The new lawsuit rejects Morehouse’s ATF target for FFL license revocation under the agency’s “zero tolerance” policy.
The ATF visited Morehouse after its initial lawsuit and found five violations of the 5,000 gun purchases or sales, and had never visited the gun store before the initial lawsuit.
The agency is now trying to suspend Morehouse’s gun shop license.
An ATF spokesman said the agency cannot comment on ongoing litigation.
Internal documents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) show the “zero tolerance” guidelines the agency is using to shut down gun stores.
Fox News Digital exclusively obtained the ATF’s January 2022 FFL inspection guide that makes it easier to revoke federal gun shop licenses.
The guidance says the agency “has zero tolerance for deliberate violations that greatly affect public safety and ATF’s ability to track firearms recovered in violent crimes” and that the “revocation” of a the FFL “is the alleged action” with violations.
“Therefore, revocation is the action taken, unless there are extraordinary circumstances, when violations are cited that include “transferring a firearm” to a prohibited person who knows or has reasonable grounds to believe that the transferee is a person prohibited”, do not perform a background check. , and “making a false or fictitious written statement on required FFL records or when applying for a firearms license,” the guide says.
The guidance defines administrative action “as a warning letter, warning conference, revocation, imposition of a civil penalty, and/or suspension of a federal firearms license, including a recommendation to deny a single original or renewal application and alternative action to revocation”.
According to the documents, “ATF must establish a willingness to proceed with revocation” under federal law, but the agency “does not have to establish a history of prior violations to determine willingness.”
“Accordingly, ATF will revoke a federal firearms license, absent extraordinary circumstances on initial violations, if those violations inherently demonstrate willfulness, such as transferring a firearm to a prohibited person; failing to conduct a background check background before transferring a firearm to a non-license holder; falsifying records or making false statements; failing to respond to an ATF tracing request; refusing to allow ATF to conduct an inspection; or allowing a straw sale of a firearm occurs.”
The guidance says the agency “may establish the knowledge element of willfulness in a number of ways,” including by establishing that “the FFL has a history of similar, repeated violations and documentation that a [Industry Operations Investigator (IOI)] discussed them with the FFL.”
ATF did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
“The FFL’s compliance history may include other ATF efforts (including qualification inspections) to inform the FFL of its legal responsibilities,” says the ATF guide, which also says the agency can “use inspection reports to establish the will even if the inspection found no violations. .”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“Revocation is also an appropriate license action in response to the discovery of the following willful violations,” the guidance also says, which includes any “other [Gun Control Act] violation not specifically contemplated in this order when the revocation is appropriate”.
Also, when an FFL loses its license, it will likely close up shop and have to send its gun purchase records, which must now be kept indefinitely, directly to the ATF.
