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BACKGROUND<\/strong><\/span>:<\/span> ATF Forms must always be filed, completed, and approved and a unique federal tax stamp must always be issued <\/span>prior to the manufacture or transfer of<\/span> a \u201cfirearm\u201d under the<\/span> National Firearms Act<\/span> (NFA). This includes Short-barreled Rifles (SBR),<\/span> Short-barreled Shotguns (SBS), and Any Other Weapons (AOW). In the case of the Biden Pistol Ban,(i)<\/span> the ATF purports that <\/span>everyone\u2019s<\/span> braced pistols are instead illegal and unregistered SBRs or similar. Therefore, ATF is offering 120 days of<\/span> \u201c<\/span>enforcement <\/span>discretion\u201d and free registration for these already made unregistered so<\/span>-called NFA firearms.(<\/span>ii)<\/span><\/p>\n During the NFA approval process, ATF runs a background check through the<\/span> FBI\u2019s<\/span> National Instant Criminal Background Check <\/span>System<\/span> (NICS). However, ATF bureaucrats often run out the clock and fail to process paperwork in a timely manner. Sometimes,<\/span> certain background records may be incomplete or old investigations were never closed or otherwise lack a disposition, and FBI may <\/span>not be able to determine whether an individual is prohibited in 88 days.<\/span><\/p>\n If the bureaucrat fails to complete the background check within 88 days after initiation<\/span>, ATF\u2019s system automatically denies <\/span><\/strong><\/span>the applicant.<\/span><\/strong><\/span> Because the gun owner is now treated as having failed a background check,<\/span> the application is \u201creturn[ed] without<\/span> action,\u201d<\/span> and the gun owner is forced to re-apply at the back of the queue.(<\/span>iii)<\/span> The gun owner may not make or transfer the NFA firearm. <\/span>A report discovered that this happened 1.1 million times from 2014 through July 2019.(<\/span>iv)<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n ATF specifies in the Biden Pistol Ban Q&A that gun owners will not be able to re-apply with amnesty if they receive a denial based <\/span>on a failed background check(<\/span>v)<\/span> and ATF \u201cwill not\u201d help them correct the record.(<\/span>vi)<\/span> When a GOA attorney at SHOT Show asked an<\/span> agent what would happen after a so-<\/span>called \u201copen\u201d<\/span> denial, he was informed that the ATF would take enforcement action.(<\/span>vii)<\/span> Perhaps<\/span> hundreds of thousands of gun owners will submit photo and written documentation directly to ATF that they possess now <\/span>unregistered and therefore illegal Short-barreled firearms.<\/span><\/span><\/strong> Then, because of the broken background check system, they will be<\/span> denied permission from the federal government to keep their firearm and ATF will treat it as a regulated NFA firearm pursuant to the <\/span>final rule, despite the owner\u2019s attempt at compliance wi<\/span>th the Biden Pistol Ban.<\/span> ATF has gone on to \u201cclarify\u201d this response<\/span>, albeit <\/span>in an unsatisfactory way.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n ATF has attempted to clarify and reassure gun owners<\/span> that compliance with the Biden Pistol Ban\u2019s registration process will not result <\/span>in criminal prosecution, but its agents appear to be contradicting each other and their clarifications are non-binding at best.<\/span> ATF\u2019s<\/span> Public Affairs Division told<\/span> AmmoLand News(<\/span>viii)<\/span> that: <\/span><\/p>\n If an application is disapproved due to the FBI not being able to provide a proceed for the background check (after 88-days),<\/span>the applicant can resolve issues with the FBI and resubmit their application to ATF (See items 21-23 in the questions and <\/span>answers<\/span>…<\/span>), even if that resubmission is after the initial 120-day period. <\/span><\/p>\n That is not good enough. If ATF wants to clarify that it will use appropriate discretion and not prosecute gun owners who have <\/span>received a denied amnesty application because of an<\/span> \u201c<\/span>open background check<\/span>\u201d<\/span> but continue to possess the<\/span> \u201c<\/span>illegal firearm,<\/span>\u201d<\/span> it should<\/span> <\/span>have been mentioned in the final rule and further binding clarification should be issued.<\/span> <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n This rogue agency has a history of flippantly changing rules to make felons of everyday Americans. This was seen only a week before<\/span> the Biden Pistol Ban was published in the Federal Register, when ATF made significant changes to the NFA FAQs that made a<\/span> commonplace occurrence a criminal violation.<\/span>(ix)<\/span> The agency then deleted the change within 24 hours without official comment.<\/span>(x)<\/span><\/p>\n ATF is not a legislative body, and they are playing with people’s lives and livelihoods with their thoughtless and draconian<\/span> \u201c<\/span>rules<\/span>.\u201d <\/span>GOA is especially disturbed that<\/span> ATF anticipated this problem with the Biden Pistol Ban but did not include enforceable<\/span> protections for gun owners in the final rule<\/span><\/strong><\/span>, but rather only included a confusing and non-<\/span>binding \u201cprotection\u201d in a fungible Q&A <\/span>document supporting the final rule. This is one of many reasons<\/span> the final rule should be reversed, the NFA should be repealed, <\/span>and the rogue ATF should be reined in.<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n (i) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. \u201c<\/span>Factoring Criteria For Firearms With Attached Stabilizing Braces<\/span><\/a>\u201d.<\/span> 2023.<\/span>Existing 88 Day Timer Resulted in over 1.1 Million Background Check Denials<\/span><\/h3>\n
Background Check Errors Will Put Hundreds of Thousands in Legal Gray Area, ATF Declines to Help<\/span><\/h3>\n
ATF’s “Solution” is Non-Binding, Worthless, and Contradicts Statue<\/h3>\n
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(ii)<\/span> Ibid<\/span><\/em>.<\/span>
(iii)<\/span> Stetly.<\/span> National Firearms Act Division Letter in Response to Form 4 Application for Tax Paid Transfer and Registration of a <\/span><\/a>Firearm. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.<\/span>
(iv)<\/span> Eaton. \u201c<\/span>FBI never completes hundreds of thousands of gun checks<\/span><\/a>\u201d.<\/span> Roll Call.<\/span> December 3<\/span>rd<\/span>, 2019.<\/span>
(v)<\/span> Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.<\/span> \u201c<\/span>NFA Form 1 Submission External Guidance with Q&A<\/span> \u2013<\/span> Guidance is <\/span>Specific to ATF Final Rule 2021R-08F<\/span><\/a>\u201d. 2023. Answer to Question 21.<\/span>
(vi)<\/span> Ibid<\/span>. Answer to Question 23.<\/span>
(vii)<\/span> Stamboulieh on Guns & Gadgets. \u201c<\/span>BREAKING ATF NEWS! Gun Owners of America Uncovers Fatal Flaw In Pistol Brace <\/span>Rule…IT’S A TRAP!!!<\/span><\/a>\u201d.<\/span> YouTube<\/span>. January 19<\/span>th<\/span>, 2023.<\/span>
(viii)<\/span> Crump. \u201cATF Comments on 88<\/span>-Day Au<\/span>tomatic Denial of Pistol Brace Tax Stamps\u201d.<\/span> AmmoLand News.<\/span> January 29<\/span>th<\/span>, 2023.<\/span>
(ix)<\/span> Gun Owners of America<\/a>.<\/span> Twitter<\/span>. 3:31 PM January 25<\/span>th<\/span>, 2023.<\/span>
(x)<\/span> Gun Owners of America<\/a>.<\/span> Twitter<\/span>. 4:39 PM January 26<\/span>th<\/span>, 2023<\/span><\/p>\n