The following alert was prepared by our colleagues at the Quixote Center.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is proposing 34 rule changes that will make the selling and trafficking of weapons much easier and the gun industry far more deregulated.
The Quixote Center has prepared a helpful comment guide regarding what they consider the four most egregious rule changes. Use this link to access the guide.
Take action
>>Use this link to sign a petition from Quixote Center, directed at ATF, opposing these four proposed rule changes.
>>Submit online comments for each proposed rule change. Below are summaries of the four most egregious rule change proposals plus links to the regulations.gov website where you can post your comment.
The public is allowed to submit online comments until August 4 for the first rule change proposal listed below and until August 6 for the three others.
Please note: Each rule change proposal has a separate comment area, and you must include the specific rule change number in your comment.
Lax gun sales: Revising regulations defining “Engaged in the Business” as a dealer in firearms (RIN 1140-AB01)
Click here to leave your comment. Deadline to respond is August 4.
Proposed text (feel free to personalize): I am writing to OPPOSE the proposed rule RIN 1140-AB01. Unlicensed sellers are not required to conduct background checks or maintain transaction records, creating pathways for criminal actors and straw purchasers. This is not a simplification of existing law, this would exploit loopholes making it far easier for bad actors to purchase and traffic weapons.
Online gun sales: Revising non-over-the-counter firearms transaction requirements rule (RIN 1140-AB05)
Click here to leave your comment. Deadline to respond is August 6.
Proposed text (feel free to personalize): I am writing to OPPOSE the proposed rule RIN 1140-AB05. Federal Firearm Licensees are our last line of defense against criminal actors. Only during in-person purchases can a dealer flag suspicious behavior and straw purchasers. The online option eliminates this guardrail.
Transporting guns across state lines: Revising interstate transport and temporary export of National Firearms Act (RIN 1140-AA89)
Click here to leave your comment. Deadline to respond is August 6.
Proposed text (feel free to personalize): I am writing to OPPOSE the proposed rule RIN 1140-AA89. Removing the pre-travel approval requirement means owners of machine guns, short-barreled rifles, and destructive devices can cross state lines with these weapons without any prior government review. Public safety should take priority over convenience by maintaining strong oversight of how these weapons move across state lines and ensuring they do not end up in places where they are prohibited.
Creating “free trade” zones for gun manufacturers: Revising firearms activities in Foreign Trade Zones, Customs-Bonded Warehouses (RIN 1140-AA93)
Click here to leave your comment. Deadline to respond is August 6.
Proposed text (feel free to personalize): I am writing to OPPOSE proposed rule RIN 1140-AA93. The proposed exemptions for Foreign Trade Zones and Customs Bonded Warehouses create significant regulatory blind spots. These gaps undermine international efforts to combat transnational gun trafficking, particularly from the US to Mexico, Haiti and across the Americas, enabling gun importers to use these warehouses to assemble or modify the guns before sending them to the market. Many importers circumvent rules by importing parts to be later assembled into a war gun, like popular AK-47 type weapons highly demanded by cartels and gangs. Overruling a standard import verification hampers the ability for the US and foreign authorities to trace weapons used in violent crimes.