By Lee Williams
SAF Investigative Journalism Project
(The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.)
On Monday, we revealed that under the Biden-Harris administration revocations of gun dealers’ Federal Firearm Licenses (FFLs) have increased a stunning 500%.
Under previous administrations, the ATF revoked an average of 40 FFLs per year. But in the 11 months since Biden has occupied the White House, the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs, and many more dealers are in the pipeline to lose their licenses and their livelihoods too.
This shouldn’t come as any surprise. Biden announced last June that he was targeting “rogue gun dealers,” whom he blamed for skyrocketing violent crime rates in major cities that have historically been controlled by Democrats. The problem is that these “rogue gun dealers” simply don’t exist, at least not in sufficient number to have caused crime to increase in Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Detroit and other urban hellholes. So, what was the administration to do?
We provided the answer Monday. At the behest of the Biden-Harris administration, the ATF instituted a zero-tolerance policy that raised the bar to impossible heights by punishing human error – any human error.
Simple paperwork mistakes that would have barely merited a mention before Biden took office now trigger an FFL revocation. According to one industry expert, the ATF changed the definition of willful. Now, even the most minor slip-up is considered a willful violation of the law, and there are no excuses or second chances. Keep in mind that today’s gun dealers are already heavily regulated and drowning in paperwork. Simple mistakes can happen very easily. It’s just a matter of time. And once an FFL is revoked, it’s nearly impossible to get back. For gun dealers, Biden’s new zero-tolerance policy has been likened to the death penalty for a minor traffic offense.
Useful idiots
We have been told that the vast majority of ATF agents don’t like Biden’s zero-tolerance policy.
Whatever.
They are still clicking their heels and following orders – willfully. How else could they have revoked 273 FFLs in just 11 months? Their willingness to obey unconstitutional orders is just further proof that the ATF needs to be abolished. There has never been a federal agency with such little regard for the sanctity of human life, with such a history of failure and with such a willingness to bend over for the politicians in charge. Constitution? They’ve never heard of it – especially the part that guarantees equal protection for all persons under the law.
To be clear, the ATF willfully allowed itself to be weaponized by the most anti-gun president in American history. They are aiding and abetting Biden’s unconstitutional war on our gun rights. Keep in mind they are still covering up for The Big Guy by denying our FOIA request that will prove Biden’s original “rogue gun dealer” claims are complete fiction. As an alleged law enforcement agency, they should be ashamed.
The ATF has never been held accountable before, even after Waco and Ruby Ridge. However, there shall be an agency-wide reckoning for their current misdeeds, hopefully beginning in November, because they are harming law-abiding Americans for reasons that are nothing but political.
Cause of action
Biden’s no gun dealers, no guns plan is simplistic, of course, but effective. There are an estimated 50,000 gun dealers in the country, but only around 30,000 have actual brick-and-mortar storefronts. Biden just took out 273 of them, and more will likely follow right into the unemployment line.
As a society, we can never allow a federal police force to be weaponized by a politician – especially a president – and sent out to enforce his whims. That is the very definition of tyranny.
I pray that the general counsel or the careerists within the ATF quickly realize they are being manipulated by the Biden-Harris administration and put a stop to their agents’ unconstitutional actions. If they don’t, I hope good people outside the agency make the decision for them, and the quicker the better. Good, hard-working, law-abiding Americans are losing their livelihoods over false accusations all because Joe Biden doesn’t like guns.
The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.
