By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
A new report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives says more than 68,000 “illegally trafficked firearms in the U.S. came through unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to perform background checks.”
The number spans a five-year period, 2017-2021, according to CBS News. Overall, the network reported, the number represents 54 percent of illegally trafficked firearms during the period. CBS said the report, ordered by Attorney General Merrick Garland “is the first in-depth analysis of firearm trafficking investigations in more than 20 years.”
The report, released by ATF Director Steve Dettelbach, looked at more than 9,700 closed ATF firearm trafficking investigations which began during the five-year period. According to ATF, “Firearms trafficking is when guns are purposely moved into the illegal market for a criminal purpose or possession.”
According to ATF, a person is engaged in the business when their activity falls within these guidelines:
- Federal law requires that persons who are engaged in the business of dealing in firearms be licensed by ATF. The penalty for dealing in firearms without a license is up to five years in prison, a fine up to $250,000, or both.
- A person can be engaged in the business of dealing in firearms regardless of the location in which they conduct firearm transactions. For example, a person can be engaged in the business of dealing in firearms even if they conduct firearm transactions only at gun shows or through the Internet.
- Whether you are “engaged in the business” of dealing in firearms depends on the specific facts and circumstances of your activities.
- While quantity and frequency of sales are relevant indicators, courts have upheld convictions for dealing without a license when as few as two firearms were sold, or when only a single transaction took place, when other factors were also present.
- As a general rule, you will need a license if you repetitively buy and sell firearms to predominantly earn a profit. (Note that this reflects a change made in 2022 by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, broadening the definition, from the previous general rule that you would need a license if you repetitively bought and sold firearms “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit.”) By contrast, if you make only occasional sales of firearms from your personal collection, you likely do not need to be licensed.
- Courts have identified several factors relevant to determining whether you need a license, including: whether you represent yourself as a dealer in or as a source of firearms; whether you are repetitively buying and selling firearms; the circumstances under which you are selling firearms; and whether you are looking to make a profit.
As part of its gun control agenda, the Biden administration has proposed “a rule that would require thousands more gun sellers to get licensed and run background checks.” The reaction from Second Amendment groups was strictly negative. Critics contend the proposed rule would “ensnare” people who sometimes sell their private firearms.
According to The Week, so-called “unlicensed dealers” reportedly sold “at least 68,388 firearms into the black market between 2017 and 2021.”
Dettelbach asserted that “illegally trafficked” guns “are responsible for real violence” in the U.S.
