Posts Tagged ‘Federal Firearm License (FFL)’

“Big Moves At The ATF”

Saturday, April 19th, 2025

Brandon Herrara has a roundup of exciting changes sweeping the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives, AKA ATF, AKA BATFE:

  • “Today we’re talking about some major shakeups that are happening at the ATF right now.”
  • “A lot of shit’s on the chopping block right now, and heads are rolling at the ATF.”
  • “The ATF under Kash Patel [Amusingly, YouTube autotranscript renders his name as “Cash Pat Mattel.” -LP] has just reversed a huge pain in the ass in the gun industry and the gun community. He’s doing great things. I hope he sticks around. We’ll get to that.”
  • “The zero tolerance policy is one of the most egregious ways that the Biden administration weaponized the ATF.”
  • “They realized they couldn’t go after the individual right to keep and bear arms (I know, crazy. It’s almost like it’s in the fucking constitution). They would go after the people who were selling and manufacturing the guns, which is where they started weaponizing audits on mom and pop FFLs.”
  • “The ATF had a history of doing audits on FFLs, where basically they’ll they’ll come in they’ll make sure that you’ve got all the guns on the books that you’re supposed to have. And basically, they’re just making sure that you’re not hawking guns out the back of your gun store to the fucking cartel, because only the ATF can do that.”
  • “But instead of using these audits to actually catch people who are committing real crimes and selling to people they’re legally not supposed to, they started going after every little minor clerical error they possibly could. People who weren’t dotting their “i”s, crossing their “T”s. Maybe you use the acronym for the state that you live in instead of the full name of the state written out. Any little thing to say that paperwork wasn’t filled out correctly, so that they could revoke your FFL.”
  • “So instead of going after people who were actually committing real crimes and selling to people that they weren’t supposed to, they were going after every little clerical error that they could to shut down local gun stores. Mom and pop places. Anybody who basically couldn’t afford to fight the federal government in court.”
  • “In the first few months, when the Biden administration rolled this out: FFL revocations, people losing their business, losing their livelihood; FFL revocation was up over 500%. They couldn’t ban the guns, so they got fucking shady about it.”
  • His congressional testimony covering the same ground snipped.
  • “But now if you have an FFL, you can breathe a small sigh of relief, because the zero tolerance policy has now been removed, which is huge.”
  • “Local small businesses no longer have to live in fear of the big green weenie of the federal government casting a mushroom-shaped shadow over their entire existence.”
  • “I am super stoked that under Kash Patel’s leadership the ATF has been making moves to reverse stupid rules.”
  • “I am very excited to see under Kash Patel’s leadership where the ATF is going to go on, and he’s gone. Yeah, Kash got fired.”
  • “Kash Patel was wearing two hats, where he was the acting director of the ATF while also being the confirmed director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations.”
  • “We do have a new acting director. Ladies and gentlemen welcome stage left, Dan Driscoll the new acting director of the ATF. Once again we have another guy who is wearing two hats. He is the current US Secretary of the Army, as well as the newly appointed acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives.”
  • “He was a combat veteran in Iraq, but aside from that, he was also a Republican candidate for congress, specifically in North Carolina’s 11th district, where he lost in the Republican primary. I get it. Aside from that his actual stance on gun policy and things like that, I really wish I had better news. I don’t know.”
  • “If you have some concerns, don’t worry, because I’m about to give you some weapons-grade copium.”
  • “I have reason to believe we all will be received in Graceland that the ATF is still gaining momentum in the right direction, because just recently the deputy director of the ATF has been fired. Shit-canned. Excommunicado. Fuckaty bye-bye. Marvin Richardson was the deputy director of the ATF, but he was also a long-standing ATF employee, having a career spanning 35 years. He was the deputy director since 2019, and was also the acting director from 2021 to 2022. Let’s go back to that 35 years at the ATF bit. Do the mental math. What happened in the last 35 years at the ATF? Yeah, Old Marvin was awarded medals for his involvement at the siege of Waco. Fucker had the burning women and children alive merit badge.”
  • “On top of that, he was largely toted as the father of the arm brace restrictions, as well as a whole host of other unconstitutional shit that the ATF has been pushing for the last 10 years or so, and he is fucking out of there. Do not pass go, do not collect $200. Fuck you. I hope you have a hangail every day for the rest of your life.”
  • “This guy had bragged in the past about how much they’ve been able to do at the ATF to circumvent having to get laws passed by Congress.”
  • “He’s talking about how many extra rules they’re able to put on law-abiding citizens without using the legal system, circumventing Schoolhouse Rock and just putting in whatever he thinks should be the rules, not what the Constitution says has to happen. Fucker bragged about it.”
  • “Rest in piss, you won’t be missed.”
  • “Some big moves happening in the ATF. I don’t know how this is all going to shake out, but I’m liking what I’m seeing so far.”
  • “So the deputy director of the ATF got fired. That’s fucking great. We’ve now been informed on who the new one will be. Introducing your new deputy director Robert Robert Cekada.”
  • “Now I have been pretty optimistic of all of the changes over at the ATF since Trump took office. This is the first one, I’ll be honest with you, throws up a little bit of a yellow flag for me. I do not know much about this man’s views on the Second Amendment. However, I do know he’s a career ATF guy. Nothing in his resume that I’ve been able to find is particularly egregious, but being a lifelong Fed naturally makes the hair in the back of my neck stand up.”
  • “Is there anything obvious that means he will be bad. No. Am I worried he might be a speed bump to the dismantlement of the bullshit regulations of the ATF in the future? Absolutely. Only time will tell.”
  • “A lot of shit’s happening very quickly.”

    • So there’s your ATF update. Mostly good news, mostly things moving in the right direction.

    It’s great to have a President keeping his campaign promises…

    Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Guns, video | 7 Comments »

    Texas Sues Biden Over New ATF Rule

    Thursday, May 2nd, 2024

    Another day, another Texas lawsuit against Biden Administration “legislation by regulatory fiat” overreach.

    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, alongside Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Gun Owners of America Texas director Wes Virdell, held a press conference on Wednesday morning announcing the filing of two lawsuits against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding new rules about private firearm sales.

    U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced new rules adding definitions of certain terms under the Safer Communities Act that will expand the circumstances requiring individuals to obtain Federal Firearm Licenses (FFL) and perform background checks to sell guns. This is to close the so-called “gun show loophole,” which has been a priority for the Biden administration.

    If they are talking about the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022, there’s absolutely nothing in the text of the act about closing any “gun show loophole.”

    Texas’ lawsuit was filed on the morning of May 1, 2024 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Amarillo Division. It was filed by Texas with the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Utah; Jeff Tormey; Gun Owners of America; Gun Owners Foundation; Tennessee Firearms Association; and the Virginia Citizens Defense League also listed as plaintiffs.

    Kansas’ lawsuit was filed on the morning of May 1, 2024 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas, Delta Division. It was filed by Kansas alongside the states of Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming, with Phillip Journey, Allen Black, Donald Maxey, and the Chisholm Trail Antique Gun Association also listed as plaintiffs.

    Both lawsuits seek declaratory and injunctive relief.

    “Today, Texas is leading a multi-state coalition that is suing to stop the final rule issued by the ATF that criminalizes private firearm sales. Biden’s latest effort to unilaterally curtail our constitutional rights is completely illegal,” said Paxton in his speech.

    “Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights. This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government.”

    Kobach also spoke at the announcement of the lawsuits.

    “Biden’s latest attempt to strip away the Second Amendment rights of Americans through ATF regulations will make many law-abiding gun owners felons if they sell a firearm or two to family or friends. This rule is blatantly unconstitutional. We are suing to defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans,” said Kobach.

    “Until now, those who repetitively purchased and sold firearms as a regular course of business had to become a licensee… This rule would put innocent firearm sales between law-abiding friends and family members within reach of federal regulation,” the Kansas court filing reads. “Such innocent sales between friends and family would constitute a felony if the seller did not in fact obtain a federal firearms license and perform a background check.”

    While not at the announcement, the attorneys general of Utah and Mississippi both offered statements in the lawsuit’s press release.

    “Nearly 40 years ago, Congress condemned ATF for targeting innocent gun owners instead of focusing on felons, calling ATF’s actions ‘reprehensible.’ Congress even changed the law to limit ATF’s authority. But ATF is at it again, this time trying to require a citizen selling even a single firearm to obtain a license. Utah is proud to join the 26 states — in three separate lawsuits— protecting their citizens from this bureaucratic overreach.” said Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes.

    “By seeking to treat every legal gunowner as a commercial gun dealer and every gun sale or trade into a commercial transaction, this rule unmasks the Biden Administration’s anti-gun agenda in ways many of its other actions have not. The Second Amendment could never have contemplated this kind of regulation and it will not withstand scrutiny in the courts. On behalf of Mississippi gunowners, we are proud to stand with the citizens who have come forward in this lawsuit,” said Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch.

    Twenty-five states are suing the ATF across both lawsuits. Florida has also filed its own suit against the ATF for declaratory and injunctive relief about the same rule.

    For those counting along on the home game, that’s more than half the states in the union suing the Biden Administration over their latest attempt at gun legislation by fiat.

    This is not the first lawsuit that Paxton has filed against the ATF this year. In February, the State of Texas sued the ATF over the Biden administration’s recent decision to redefine firearms with pistol braces as short-barrelled rifles under the National Firearms Act (NFA).

    Complete civilian disarmament has been a longterm goal of the Democratic Party, and to that end they would love to ensnare ordinary Americans in FFL laws and paperwork for private firearms transactions, despite such restrictions never being contemplated by the founding fathers. In the post-Bruen judicial landscape, expect the courts to be extremely skeptical of unconstitutional firearms regulation, especially those with no basis in the underlying statute language, and expect Paxton to notch another victory over the Biden Admistration in his belt.

    Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
    Posted in Democrats, Guns, ObamaCare, Regulation, Republicans, Texas | 11 Comments »