A White House Fact Sheet previewing President Joe Biden’s Wednesday afternoon speech suggests he will announce increased overwatch of Federal Firearms License holders (FFLs) as part of his response to surging crime.
According to the White House, Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) “is announcing a new policy to underscore zero tolerance for willful violations of the law by [FFLs] that put public safety at risk.”
What the new policy means in real terms:
Absent extraordinary circumstances that would need to be justified to the Director, ATF will seek to revoke the licenses of dealers the first time that they violate federal law by willfully 1) transferring a firearm to a prohibited person, 2) failing to run a required background check, 3) falsifying records, such as a firearms transaction form, 4) failing to respond to an ATF tracing request, or 5) refusing to permit ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law.
The White House Fact Sheet notes, “ATF will notify every firearms dealer whose license is revoked about how to lawfully transfer any remaining inventory, as well as the potential criminal consequences of continuing to engage in the business of buying and selling guns without a license. The prior Administration stopped this important notification practice that helps deter future unlawful activity.”
Over 300 people have been killed in Chicago year-to-date and, as of June 3, 2021, murder in Los Angeles County was up 95 percent over where it was at that same time in 2020.
Chicago is located in a state with a red flag law, a 72-hour waiting period on gun purchases, and a Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) card requirement. Additionally, the county in which Chicago is located has an “assault weapons” ban.
Los Angeles County is located in a state with all the same controls mentioned re: Chicago, plus a “high capacity” magazine ban, universal background checks, a 10-day waiting period on gun purchases, gun registration requirements, a limit on the number of guns a law-abiding citizen can buy each month, and controls on ammunition, among other things.
The gun control are not stopping crime so the Biden Administration is focusing on licensed gun dealers.
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. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.
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