SAF Reports a 500% Increase in FFL Revocations

2nd Amendment – R2KBA Industry News Max Slowik This Week
SAF Reports a 500% Increase in FFL Revocations
The SAF believes that FFLs are being revoked for political reasons, things like typos — not breaking the law. (Photo: G.A.)

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) released a statement concerning a recent increase in Federal Firearms License (FFL) revocations. While the move is tied to enforcing gun laws already on the books, the SAF believes that certain laws are being pushed past their limits as a form of backdoor gun control.

“In the 11 months since Joe Biden declared war on ‘rogue gun dealers,’ the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs – an increase of more than 500 percent,” said Lee Williams on behalf of the SAF. “However, rather than targeting the true rogues, Biden’s ATF is revoking FFLs for the most minor of paperwork errors, which were never a concern for the ATF until Biden weaponized the agency.”

“This has nothing to do with the ATF and everything to do with the DOJ,” said industry expert John Clark of FFL Consultants. “The vast majority of the ATF don’t like this any more than the industry does. It’s Biden.”

Clark alongside his business partner John Bocker work with the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) to help NSSF members avoid these incidents in the first place. “Our goal is prevention – get it right the first time,” Bocker said. “We are the proactive and preventative arm of the NSSF.”

“Key to the massive increase in revocations is Biden’s zero-tolerance for willful violations policy,” said Williams. “If a dealer makes a simple mistake, they can now lose their license, because the new definition of willful states that the dealer knew the law, but willfully chose to violate it anyway – regardless of whether it was an oversight, an error by an employee or a simple paperwork mistake.”

“They have twisted negligence into willful,” Clark said. “These are not uncommon errors that we’re seeing. Things happen.” Bocker added that they handle as many as three revocation hearings a week as of late.

Typically, justification for revoking an FFL requires a gun dealer to knowingly transfer a firearm to a prohibited person, decline to run a background check before a transfer, falsify records or refuse requests from the ATF to perform inspections.

Williams said that FFLs are having their licenses revoked for typographical errors submitted to the ATF, and even in some cases when the ATF failed to update their own FFL records.

SEE ALSO: ATF Targeting FFLs for License Revocation

Because of this, the SAF sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ATF for records relating to any FFLs that have had their licenses revoked for transferring firearms to prohibited persons and businesses that lost their licenses for not cooperating with ATF requests. The ATF has yet to respond.

“In the 11 months since the FOIA request was filed, the ATF has not complied with the law,” said Williams. “They can comply with federal law and provide the documents, which will likely reveal that Biden’s rogue gun dealer policy is just a ruse, or they can continue to deny and delay the FOIA request even though their actions violate federal law.”

“If there is a dealer who transfers firearms to prohibited persons, fails to conduct background checks and ignores requests from the ATF to help trace firearms used in a crime, they should lose their FFL,” he said. “I don’t know anyone who disagrees with that.”

“However, these are not the type of dealers the ATF is targeting at Biden’s behest,” said Williams. “The Biden-Harris administration has ordered the ATF to revoke FFLs for even the most minor of paperwork errors, solely to support its rogue-dealer myth.”

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  • David March 19, 2024, 4:25 pm

    1 There is about 50,000 Retailers. Stores (01) (02) (09) Licenses Holders too>

  • Bernard Cobb May 18, 2022, 2:46 pm

    The Clinton’s, Obama, Joe and the Ho Biden administration’s are all corrupt communist . The parents fail their children the schools are allowed to teach communist proporganda. God help our Country.

  • Matthew Burgess May 13, 2022, 10:16 pm

    That’s a pretty hefty claim with zero presented atrocities. You can do better GA.

  • Elmer Fudd May 13, 2022, 7:21 pm

    Did the FFL who sold well-known drug addict, Hunter Biden a revolver get his license revoked? Poor Hunter, his wife transported said weapon concealed and threw it in the garbage. Bad FFL

  • Paul Betz May 13, 2022, 12:22 pm

    There are some ffl’s that need to be revoked, but this assault on all dealers is draconian. No FFL could conduct 250 sales and transfers without a typo or omission somewhere.

  • EasyEddie May 13, 2022, 11:33 am

    The 0bama-Biden administration use the muscle of every federal agency needed to exhibit their disdain for firearms, dealers and owners. The only difference now is that their pettiness is on full exhibit. It is unfortunate that there can be no meaningful forceful ‘revolution’. Only the communist-democrat party and their orc armies are organized and hold the reigns of power. Their hatred of you is on display every day. Empires come and go…we all know that from history. The real regret, however, is that it might fall without even a shot being fired in its defense.

  • JB May 11, 2022, 2:19 pm

    The Communist Biden Regime is a lawless corrupt gang house determined to destroy America and enslave us all.

    Elections that are free and fair are useless in fighting these Communist bastards.

    Only a “declaration of indepedance and freedom” issued by the people that is backed up by force has any chance in unwinding the Communist takeover of these United States. An American revolution may fail, but to surrender to Communist tyranny means certain and slow death.

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