SPRINGFIELD, VA –-(Ammoland.com)- According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the new proposed rule on unfinished frames and receivers was developed due to “numerous requests from licensees seeking clarity on how [Privately Manufactured Firearms] may be accepted and recorded.” But a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Gun Owners of America (GOA) shows that reasoning to be false.
The ATF claimed that numerous federal firearms Licensees (FFL) contacted the Bureau and asked how to handle privately manufactured firearms (PMF) they take into inventory. The word numerous can mean many different things to different people. Some might consider numerous to be three or more. To others, it starts at a much bigger number such as 300. What can be agreed on by most logically honest people is that the number must be greater than one.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines numerous as: “consisting of great numbers of units or individuals.”
GOA wanted to see what the ATF considered “numerous requests,” so the gun-rights group filed a FOIA request with the government agency. The ATF answered the request by providing the requested documents to GOA’s lawyers.
The Numerous Requests Equaled a Giant Total of One (1) Request!
The response shows that the ATF received one request from one FFL sent to one Industry Operations Inspectors (IOI), about one PMF (privately manufactured firearm) in August of 2020. The ATF could not produce any other request from FFLs about PMFs!?
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This discrepancy leads to many questions. If there were “numerous requests,” then why didn’t the FOIA response contain them. The ATF either lied on the reasoning for the proposed rule change, or the ATF violated the law by not turning over all the documents that the agency legally must give to those that request them. The other possibility is that the ATF considers “numerous requests” to be one request. A distinct possibility considering past ATF decision-making, but that answer seems unlikely.
Most people do not believe that this letter inspired change. Most think that the ATF used the reasoning as an excuse to execute President Joe Biden’s gun control plan that has stalled in Congress.
If the ATF is to be believed, then the agency is changing a regulation that has been in place since 1968 over a single request from a single FFL asking about one firearm.
In April of 2021, the former Vice President issued an executive action instructing the ATF to look at regulations surrounding unfinished firearms and frames. President Biden gave the Bureau 30 days to unveil its plans for new proposed rules for what he calls “ghost guns.” The President also gave the Bureau 60 days to develop new proposed regulations surrounding pistol braces.
The ATF is using Chevron deference to change the rules and the definition of a firearm to include unfinished frames and receivers. The ATF listed the proposed rule on the Federal Register for public comment. The ATF read and cataloged the public comments. Just under 300,000 comments were received, with most opposing the rule change.
The regulations don’t appear to be imminent. The ATF started reaching out to FFLs and gunsmiths to gauge the impact on their business and figure out how long it would take to serialize all 80% kits in stock.
As for the so-called “numerous” requests, that number one more time was….ONE!
“Numerous Requests” Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Request by Gun Owners of America
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 27 CFR Parts 447, 448, and 479 by AmmoLand Shooting Sports News on Scribd
About John Crump
John is a 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 at www.crumpy.com.
” But a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request by Gun Owners of America (GOA) shows that reasoning to be false.”
As false as the AFT being a Constitutionally authorized agency.
This is an insult to elephants everywhere, unless Chipman is underneath that dung pile.
and an insult to dung plies everywhere! Good morning, bro!
Along with Joeblow and all the other Nazi’s within our Republic….
Why would anyone want to contaminate a perfectly good natural fertilizer with that pile of human excrement?
“it’s 70% bull shit.”
I believe you missed that by about 30%.
maybe not. There are a small number of them that did wake up this morning and declare “its Tuesday”.
So when the next BATFE Director nominee shows up in front of a Senate confirmation hearing, they should be asked to define “assault weapon” (which the last guy flubbed big time) AND asked to define “numerous.”
I would think that someone asking to pull down a six figure tax payer funded salary should be able to handle that, don’t you?
I mean, its not like a well rounded vocabulary is ever going to be an important tool for anyone in government.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/local/longterm/williams/williams020499.htm
Fact. One truth about the Progressive New Left. Facts don’t matter. That is how and why they show up to debate disarmed with the specific facts of the case. They depend upon hyperbole, emotion and deception to carry the day. Confront them with a wall of verified facts (from their own agencies) and crush them in a public forum.
Crisis actors. You’re out of you mind if you think Sandy Hook was a bunch of crisis actors. Dead kids and staff members were quite real, and quite dead. You need to read the states attorney report and the Conn. State Police report. Anyone claiming the shootings use actors is a mental case. Like Alec Jones and the lawsuits he lost. Even Jones claimed he was mentally defective.
I can’t wait to see how the BATF will contort itself to call a bumpfinger a machine gun when it attaches to your finger and not the weapon. My finger is a machine gun? I still hate Trump for banning bump stocks.
If that happens, Jerry Miculek will have to go into hiding!
MP – did you see the video where Mr. Miculek did a demo with a lever action that made the Rifleman look like he was in slow motion? Granted, most of us mere mortals ain’t nearly that capable but still……………….
I just looked it up. “he invented all those guns”, quite awesome. My favorite JM video is him shooting a WW2 Grease Gun. Halfway through the mag, he looks towards the camera. The look on his face was like; “Can’t this thing shoot any faster, I got places to be.”
Me too and I won’t support him a third time
How can you tell when the AFT is lying?
Their lips are moving.
easier than that. If they are breathing……
Typical ATF reasonless far left socialist actions.
I see the elephant is birthing another Democrat !
Again, Chevron deference is an administrative law principle, and federal agencies are NOT entitled to Chevron deference in matters of criminal law.
True, but this is an administrative change proposal to an administrative reporting requirements. Our Federal Register process is so broken we cannot depend upon agencies to make fact based and reason based determinations on quail habitat much less something as important and predetermined as are our rights to keep and bear. This is how progressive tyrants dictate. Through bureaucracy. Remember, these are the kids you had to defend in 3rd grade so half baked bullies would not take their lunch money and smash their flute cases on the school bus. They have grown up and now populate our bureaucracies and… Read more »
If these “administrative changes in reporting requirememts” can potentially result in criminal prosecutions, then Chevron does not apply.
They can take their putrid “administration changes” and stick ’em where the sun don’t shine. That is unless they’ve been gutted from asshole to piehole.
Correct, Gunner. They cannot use Chevron for this. Nor can they redefine words in statutes, as that is up to Congress, which already defined them.
if only they had the reading skills and comprehension of a third grader they would know what the 2A means and that would pretty much put them out of business. they are a tyrannical bunch of thugs.
Those that are working at the ILLEGALLY INSTALLED bureaucracy of the BATF and sub-offices are Thugs, LIARS or CRIMINAL TYRANTS operating under the FALSE “color of law”.
The atfe is a tyrannical, treasonous, criminal, unconstitutional government agency that daily disavows their oath to the people, the nation and the constitution. The atfe should be disbanded, arrested, prosecuted and jailed for their crimes including tyranny, treason, theft, assault, intimidation, threats, attempted murder, falsifying government documents and murder. I am sure they have committed more crimes but I am not trying to write a book. Maybe someone should do so. This article shows them falsifying government documents. Why? Job justification. The atfe is an unconstitutional government agency that is being used by progressive, socialist, communist forces to destroy the… Read more »
I was 6 years old in 1960 and I remember seeing Khrushchev give another speech on TV from the United Nations in the fall right after we started school. When he took off his shoe and pounded it on the lectern it scared the holy Hell out of me. I had just started kindergarten and one of the very first things we did in the morning was practice our nuke drills, by getting under our desks and basically kissing our ass goodbye. On separate days we practiced our Tornado drills where we went out into the halls and stood facing… Read more »
GOD bless you Sir
Arm up and carry on
Mr. Crump, I posted this in your above linked article on this subject:
Questions: Do FFLs and gunsmiths HAVE to respond to these ‘requests for information’?
If they don’t ‘have to’ and don’t does the ATF have a way to track who did and did not comply? (fear factor)
Can the public get a list of which FFLs / gunsmiths were asked and which complied?
As a lawyer can you provide any guidance on that?
Thanks.
No, they don’t have to. And would be wise not to, as the f squad will take what they say as incriminating and an admission of guilt and violation of some minor code even if it isn’t the case.
Looks like we need to reduce numerous agencies in Washington DC, let’s start with one! The ATF as being frivolous and unnecessary!
Dog – that would likely be a good start 😉 since that agency’s operations are all based on ‘regulations’ instead of actual laws enacted by CONgress. And that doesn’t even take into account that those ‘regs’ can be ‘enforced’ by other agencies……………….
Change rules , change laws , change definitions. The clowns at the BATF and thier overreach has gone far enough when they continually lie and commit murder . Waco Texas and Ruby ridge are a prime examples of thier criminal activity and will to commit murder on American citizens. One day they will knock down the wrong door and the whole damn building will blow up in thier face ! Justice will be served on the lying murdering basturds .
The ATF didn’t shoot anybody at Ruby Ridge. Sammy was shot by a US Marshal. Everyone else that was shot was hit by FBI rifle fire.
The lying BATFE agents set the entire mess in motion.
A US Marshal killed Sammy.
The FBI killed the other innocent people who died at Ruby Ridge.
The US military flew surveillance missions.
The national guard provided support and equipment.
The local sheriff made everything worse.
BTW, when you were with the Washington State Patrol, would you have followed orders to enforce a law that required semiautomatic rifles to be confiscated if there were such a law at that time?
Nice to see you and Don are in agreement on the important facts of Ruby Ridge shootings.
It’s not likely that Don agrees with what I wrote.
Note the active language I used for the FBI actions (versus Don’s passive language).
Note that I indicated all innocent people were killed by armed government employees. When Don wrote: “Sammy was shot by a US Marshal. Everyone else that was shot was hit by FBI rifle fire,” he excluded one other person who was killed at that location.
The last three points I made in my comment are all important facts. I have no idea if Don is in agreement.
This was a dumb-a$$ question. Log the firearm in as not having a serial number. When I gunsmithed I often received an old shotgun or .22 cal rifle (pre-1968) which were non-serialized. Serialization was not required for shotguns and .22 cal rifles until after the gun control act of 1968!
No free man shall be denied the use of arms.
of course, the atf hates that principle.
So does your beloved NRA considering how many arms laws they’ve supported and helped write.
I haven’t supported the NRA since Wayne got control
The NRA has supported arms control long before Wayne and still does to this day.
ATF, definition of numerous = one gun store with three employees and one working the sales has a person bring in a private manufactured gun, sales guy hollowed back to Second employee, hey Joe how do I handle this, he said just a minute and ask the boss. That is the ATF definition of numerous.
there is no honesty in government , anyone that is a control freak will lie cheat and kill to stay on top of the heap that is why small government is best
A tax rebellion/ boycott would starve the current criminal federal gov from continually violating civil rights and dozens of aspects the the Constitution. And shut it down, if large enough.
That is a great idea! If everyone threatened not to pay, and then waited until the last minute, that would give us lots of leverage. It could even go a bit farther.
WTF….. that wouldn’t stop Sammy. A dozen tractor trailers would still pull up to the Treasury Printing Office EVERY DAY, to haul metric tons of paper fiat to banks (and countries that hate U.S.)……. EVERY FORKIN’ DAY !!
The f squad lied, as they cannot be so intellectually inferior as to believe one equates to “numerous”. They claimed “numerous” requests existed as a means to fool the public and manipulate US citizens into thinking ffl’s were concerned about 80% receivers and scare the public into believing these receivers were a problem. It was all to justify their stated goal to regulate them, as the acting head and his female co-conspirator told Joe 80%ers and braces were their top two targets. It was in the news in 2019 and 2020.
What can you expect from a long time corrupt gov agency, that believes it’s only job is to disarm legal gun owners and harrass gun dealers until they give up out of frustrastion and go out of business
This is a agency that really needs to be shut down.
“One is the loneliness number that you’ll ever do…two can be as bad as one it’s the loneliest number since the number one…BUT, my FAV line in that Three Dog Night song is,” It’s so good anymore since you went away…”
...catch my drift ATF?!
Sorry — they sang, “It’s no good anymore since you went away.”
Creative license.
say the name! of the ffl. probably one that is working for, oops i mean, with batfe.
SAY THE NAME of the FFL OFFENDER!
The f squad cannot use chevron to create a regulation that will expand criminal statute and result in prison time for citizens. This is just one among other ways they usurp Congress and violate the Constitution with their two proposed regs. They belong in the dustbin along with the f squad charter.
Why would you expect anything less than pure BS from All Toddlers Flammable
STILL; The ANTI-AMERICAN BURACRAUCY at the atf was instituted ILLEGALLY by a “director” in the ‘irs’. This FACT proves that anything and everything the ‘atf/batf/batfe’ and all of its smaller branches MUST be DISBANDED – REMOVED and REJECTED !!!