ATF changes law targeting gun stores’ federal sales licenses

The Biden administration reversed a much-criticized policy that required regulators to revoke federal firearms sales licenses at gun shops for certain paperwork errors or anomalies as part of a “zero tolerance” approach.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) voluntarily changed the law following a lawsuit by Michael Cargill, the owner of a gun store in Austin, Texas, who argued the policy was a barrier to gun access. The right to own weapons.

“I single-handedly took out the ATF,” Cargill told Fox News Digital.

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Cargill brought the case with the support of the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) and America First Law.

In the year Under a 2021 regulation by the Biden administration, federal firearms license (FFL) holders can have their license revoked the first time they “willfully” violate a number of provisions, such as the firearms transaction form.

The ordinance was intended to curb gun crimes. However, critics say it is used to punish gun traffickers for minor and honest paperwork errors. TPPF cited random errors when filling out forms, such as writing “USA” in the “County” field on the back verification form.

Fox News Digital reached out to ATF.

Matt Miller, a senior TPPF attorney and lead attorney on the case, said the Biden administration’s zero-tolerance approach has been “devastating” to businesses.

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Semi-automatic shotguns in Austin, Texas, August 25, 2023 by McBride Guns Inc. They are for sale in the store. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

“Many gun stores have been forced to close due to the illegal terms of the previous executive order,” he said in a statement. “The new order effectively reverses the old enforcement directive, which means gun stores don’t have to live in fear of honest mistakes.”

Cargill previously won a case before the US Supreme Court that overturned a federal stock ban.

“There are 100 different ways customers can go wrong with paperwork when they walk into a gun store,” he said. “If we allow them to go into hospitals and check with this terminology and say, ‘They made a mistake at the hospital.'” Either the doctor or the radiologist made a mistake.

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“No one does that. No other industry is put under that kind of pressure,” Cargill added.