Licensed Federal Firearms Dealers Say Biden Is Targeting Them

ATF agents walk into the home of Kaufman District Attorney Mike McLelland Monday, April 1,
Tony Gutierrez/AP

Federal Firearms License holders (FFLs) are accusing President Biden of targeting them after his administration revoked the licenses of 122 FFLs during the last fiscal year.

FOX News reported that the Biden Administration revoked 90 in the previous fiscal year.

The highest number that was revoked during any fiscal year in Trump or Obama administrations was 81.

Breitbart News spoke to FFLs at various gun stores and they indicated they are now operating in an atmosphere where a clerical error–a line left blank on a background check or an area improperly completed–could mean they lose their FFLs.

On July 7, 2023, the Truth About Guns pointed out that in the current fiscal year “ATF has conducted 6,609 inspections of Federal Firearms Licensees … That’s closing in on 2022’s annual total of 7,502 for the entire year. ATF inspectors are conducting an average of 647.33 inspections across the nation per month, topping 2022’s monthly average of 587.66.”

FOX News indicated that FFLs believe they are “being unfairly targeted for political reasons over paperwork errors as part of an agenda to combat gun violence which President Biden has vocally pushed.”

Anthony Navarro, one of the FFLs who lost his license last year, noted that the errors that cost him his license were made regarding people who were not prohibited from purchasing guns.

ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said, “Federal Firearms Licensees are often our first line of defense against gun crime and are often a source of critical enforcement information that helps law enforcement identify straw purchasers and disrupt firearms trafficking schemes.”

“FFLs that willfully violate the law, however, must be held accountable,” she said. “ATF conducts inspections to ensure compliance with applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations and to educate licensees on the specific requirements of those laws and regulations.”

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010, a speaker at the 2023 Western Conservative Summit, and he holds a Ph.D. in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.

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