WASHINGTON, D.C. -(AmmoLand.com)- A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) leak shows that the organization is changing its secret rules regarding guns sellers to make it easier for the government to strip firearms dealers of their federal firearms license (FFL).
In 2020, Gun Owners of America (GOA) filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request with the ATF. The gun-rights group asked the agency to provide a copy of ATF O 5370, entitled “Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy and Procedures.” This document lays out the administrative remedies for violations found during an ATF inspection of a licensed firearms dealer.
The ATF has long tried to prevent the document from seeing the light of day.
After much stalling, the ATF begrudgingly turned over the heavily redacted version of the document to GOA. Still, the federal agency redacted almost all of the valuable information the FOIA request. Some of the missing information includes what violations could cause the dealer to lose their FFL.
ATF Response ATF O 5370 Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy and Procedures 1D – Redacted
The ATF did not know when it turned over the document to GOA that AmmoLand News had already obtained an unredacted copy of the secret document from our sources from deep within the Bureau.
Also, in February, the ATF launched the Firearms Compliance Inspections website, which lists some reasons that the ATF will revoke a license of a firearms dealer. The reasons listed on the website are incomplete when compared to the actual Federal Rules detailed in ATF O 5370.
For example, according to the ATF site, if a dealer refuses to allow an Industry Operations Inspector (IOI) to do an inspection, then the FFL would be revoked according to the site. In reality, according to the ATF O 5370 document, that would only be the case during the seller’s business hours that they provided to the ATF during their application phase of their FFL. Suppose an IOI wanted to do an inspection outside the dealer’s business hours. In that case, the document instructs them to call the dealer via phone and arrange a mutually agreeable time to inspect the seller’s books. There are several other reasons the ATF list on its site that would cause the agency to revoke a license.
These include the following:
- Transferring a firearm to a prohibited person.
- Failing to conduct a required background check.
- Falsifying records.
- Failing to respond to a trace request.
The problem is these reasons do not line up with the actual rules laid out in ATF O 5370, entitled “Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy and Procedures.” [unredacted version embedded below] It seems like the rules on the website have been truncated to remove several qualifiers. A gun buyer can use a concealed handgun permit (CHP) to purchase a firearm instead of the dealer running a background check in many states. If the CHP holder has become a prohibited person since acquiring the permit, it could jeopardize the dealer’s license even though the dealer is complying with the Brady Act. A previous leak obtained by AmmoLand News showed that IOIs have started running retroactive background checks using the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) on gun buyers that purchased firearms using a CHP.
The Actual Federal Rules for revoking a license according to ATF O 5370 are as follows:
- Refused ATF right of entry and inspection during hours of operation at the licensed premise.
- Transferring a firearm to a prohibited person WHILE knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the transferee is a prohibited person
- Failing to conduct a required background check AND the purchaser is prohibited.
- Falsifying records
- Failing to respond to a trace request AND is a repeat violation.
Biden Administration Playing Dirty with ‘AFT’
AmmoLand News first thought that the difference could be an oversight, but our internal ATF contacts have also provided us with a memo, dated July 14, 2021, from Acting Assistant Director (Field Operations) George Lauder to all Special Agents in Charge(SAIC) and all Directors of Industry Operations (DIO) that showed that the differences are not an oversight.
According to the memo, the changes are a part of the Biden “Administration’s Comprehensive Strategy to Prevent and Respond to Gun Crime and Ensure Public Safety.”
President Biden has called for a crackdown on “rogue” deal dealers, and the secret changes to the hidden rules seem to be a way of lightening the burden of proof that the government needs to revoke a gun dealer’s license. The changes have been made without any oversight leading a lot in the gun community to wonder if this is another example of an out-of-control agency.
The memo also requires all field divisions to harass, er.. utilize “Crime Gun Intelligence Analytics (CGIA) and other data-driven tools in determining the prioritization of inspection resources.”
These factors include:
a. The extent to which firearms sold by the dealer are later used in criminal activity;
b. The time between the sale of a firearm and its use in a crime;
c. The number of recoveries associated with shootings, domestic violence, and other violent offenses; and
d. Additional information developed by local law enforcement partners.
AmmoLand News reached out to the ATF for comment but did not get a response before publication.
GOA — ATF FOIA Request ATF O 5370 Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy and Procedures
ATF Response ATF O 5370 Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy and Procedures 1D – UNRedacted
About John Crump
John is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or www.crumpy.com.
Teach the young how to shoot and maintain firearms, and pass them down within the family, along with the tradition of expanding your ammo supply monthly. Make sure they are ready for what comes next.
Elections have consequences and when the Communists are put in charge theStasi runs wilds anyone really surprised.
Mark Levin got it right, American Marxism is alive, and well.
And so the real question remains… knowing full well that a gun does not shoot itself, but in the act of a violent crime, requires a criminal to pull the trigger; what is the real motive behind gun control? Laws and regulations do not prevent criminals from obtaining and using firearms in the commission of a crime, is the real motive to disarm freedom loving law abiding American citizens? The long term political agenda of Leftists is that of a CCP style totalitarian government, here in the United States. Unfortunately for them, they can’t realize their wet dream, as long… Read more »
I worked at a privately operated detention center for about 16 years. During that time we held well over 100 federal inmates at a time. Most of those inmates were presentenced individuals awaiting sentences on plea bargained guilty pleas on mostly conspiracy charges. These inmates had not been convicted of felonies on federal charges. I had conversations with many of these folks, and the majority of them said that they plead guilty to crimes that they did not commit in order to protect their families from federal harassment. I heard the following from almost everyone of those inmates, “I agreed… Read more »
The old Double Secret Probation trick rides again, even as fed agency after fed agency is found violating laws in the pursuit of …
No surprise here. Business as usual at the BATFE. They’ve been doing this crap for as long as there has been a BATFE.
Let’s all remember this the next time Ammoland posts a string of BATFE press releases.
As an FFL holder for over 20 years, I find none of these rules constrain my business. I have had 6 compliance inspections and never had an issue. Obey the rules and law as written and you will not have any worries about having your FFL canceled.