U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Joe Biden has rekindled his war on American gun owners, selecting so-called “ghost guns” as the new administration bogeyman and setting new rules to expand the definition of a firearm to include kits used by home gunsmiths, and he’s also announced a new nominee to head the agency he hopes will enforce the rules.
Biden is nominating Steve Dettelbach as the new director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and immediately the gun prohibition lobby threw its support behind the choice.
The White House issued a statement Monday detailing the plan:
“Today’s final rule includes two additional actions to make our communities safer.
“First, the final rule ensures that firearms with split receivers are subject to regulations requiring serial numbers and background checks when purchased from a licensed dealer, manufacturer or importer. Decades ago, ATF issued a regulation defining the ‘frame or receiver’ of a firearm as the part that is regulated by the Gun Control Act – meaning that is the part that triggers federal serialization, background check, and other requirements. At that time, many firearms in the United States were single-framed firearms, like revolvers, that house key components in a single structure. However, we have seen the increasing popularity of firearms using split or multi-part receivers that house key components in multiple structures. Some courts have recently interpreted decades-old regulatory text in a way that, if broadly applied, could mean that as many as 90 percent of firearms in the United States today would not have a frame or receiver subject to federal regulation. The final rule updates the regulatory definitions of ‘frame’ and ‘receiver’ to ensure that firearms using split or multi-part receivers continue to be covered by our common-sense gun laws.
“Second, the final rule requires federally licensed firearms dealers to retain key records until they shut down their business or licensed activity. At that time, these dealers must transfer the records to ATF, just as they are currently required to do at the end of licensed activity. Previously, these dealers were permitted to destroy most records after 20 years, making it harder for law enforcement to trace firearms found at crime scenes. According to ATF’s National Tracing Center, on average more than 1,300 firearms a year are untraceable because the federally licensed firearms dealer destroyed the relevant records that were more than 20 years old.”
Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY) says the plan is unconstitutional.
“The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to prevent you from making your own firearm,” Massie said in a Twitter message. “This a fact that has been recognized for 200+ years. Also, Article 1, Section 1 (literally the first operative sentence in the Constitution) says Congress makes law, not POTUS!”
Gun rights organizations are clearly opposed to Biden’s new scheme and his BATF nomination
“Once again, Joe Biden is focusing on a bogeyman instead of bad guys by attacking the American tradition of home gunsmithing,” said Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
“The fact that Steve Dettelbach, his new nominee to head BATF, immediately got full support from the gun prohibition lobby should be enough to make every American gun owner leery.”
Gottlieb also is the executive vice president of the Second Amendment Foundation, which focuses solely on education and litigation, and he added this: “We do not believe that the Biden Administration has the legal authority to redefine what a gun is. Only Congress has that authority. This is a blatant attempt to usurp the constitution. Our attorneys are exploring a lawsuit.”
Gun Owners of America quickly tweeted Massie is “spot on – Biden’s proposal to create a comprehensive national gun registry and end the online sale of gun parts without the passage of a new law exemplifies his disregard for the Second Amendment.”
National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam issued a statement forward to AmmoLand News:
“An administration that’s truly sincere and resolute about curbing violent crime rates would do one thing: take violent criminals off the streets immediately. Yet, the Biden administration allows these criminals who kill and maim with callous and reckless abandon, again and again, to roam the streets of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, San Francisco and other cities large and small across our country without fear of prosecution and punishment.
“Americans know the lenient bail system and the revolving door justice system supported and perpetrated by the Biden administration and other leaders who support soft-on-criminal policies are the problem.
“However, today, the president unveils yet another hollow plan that will not stop this violence. His gun control actions will undoubtedly hearten his wealthy gun control supporters. But, this action sends the wrong message to violent criminals, because this ‘ban’ will not affect them. These violent crime sprees will continue unabated until they are arrested, prosecuted and punished.”
The Constitution does not authorize the federal government to prevent you from making your own firearm. This a fact that has been recognized for 200+ years. Also, Article 1, Section 1 (literally the first operative sentence in the Constitution) says Congress makes law, not POTUS! pic.twitter.com/vTFRvKYTVi
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) April 11, 2022
According to Fox News, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) declared, “It’s high time for a ghost gun exorcism before the proliferation peaks and before more people get hurt — or worse… My message is a simple one: No more waiting on these proposed federal rules.”
The perennial anti-gunner said such firearms are “too easy to build, too hard to trace and too dangerous to ignore.”
But rather than constituting a major problem, according to CBS News, so-called “ghost guns” account for about 12 percent of all guns seized by the New York Police Department this year. Perhaps unintentionally demonstrating how the data might be sensationalized, CBS News quoted NYPD Intelligence Chief Tom Galati, who said last month, “In New York City in 2019, we recovered 47 ghost guns. In 2020, we recovered 150 ghost guns. In 2021, that number jumped up to 375. And so far in 2022, we have 85 compared to 20 last year. That’s a 325% increase of seizures of ghost guns since last year.”
The CBS story acknowledged, “ghost guns are used in only a fraction of gun crimes. About 12% of guns seized by the NYPD so far this year were ghost guns, according to the New York Post, although data is limited because of how difficult it is to trace them.”
Over at Fox, commentator David Webb criticized Biden for not cracking down on criminals.
“There’s no point where he does that,” Webb said during an early-morning appearance on Fox & Friends First. “Ghost guns are not the issue.”
Fox reported that crime is up 44.1 percent in New York, 36 percent in Chicago and 7 percent in Los Angeles. The common denominator in all three cities is Democrat control.
The Dettelbach nomination is likely to be a hot button item in the days and weeks ahead. He is already on record, while running for attorney general in Ohio, for renewing the ban on so-called “assault weapons” and requiring background checks on firearms purchases.
As quoted by ABC News, John Feinblatt, president of the billionaire-backed Everytown for Gun Safety said, “We applaud the Biden-Harris Administration for doubling down on its commitment to gun safety by taking action to rein in ghost guns and nominating an ATF Director who will end its culture of complicity with the gun industry. Steve Dettelbach will be the strong leader the ATF needs to lead a top-to-bottom overhaul of the agency, and we urge the Senate to swiftly confirm him.”
Anti-Second Amendment groups said essentially the same thing about Biden’s first nominee, David Chipman, who was withdrawn last summer when it became obvious he would not be confirmed.
According to The Hill, “Dettelbach previously served as counsel in the Senate Judiciary Committee under former Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), and was the Democratic nominee for Ohio attorney general in 2018.”
Biden needs someone heading BATF who will carry out his agenda. This nomination is likely to get plenty of opposition on Capitol Hill and from gun owners nationwide.
About Dave Workman
Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.
This will never make in through the court system. Since when does the president make laws??? That is the job on the congress the senate then the president signs it. Brandon again sails a sinking ship into a doomed future.
Impeach Biden Harris lock up Nancy disband the ATF remove the deep state from the FBI
You can not say a part unto itself is a gun if that was so a waterpump would be a car.
Well they say a trigger makes a machine gun and a baffle, wipe or threaded end cap makes a silencer.
Can’t fix stupid but you can employ and give it a government pension at one of the federal alphabet soup gangs.
why not,a brain dead sock puppet is president
and as for fixing fbi build new from ground up fbi is so screwed up from hoover it cant be fixed
Anything to get your eyes off of dope head Hunter!!!!
The big question is how many guns are recovered at a crime scene, that then through running the serial number traced down the perpetrator of the crime? I would bet it’s less than 5 nationwide.
You may have a point. In my experience reporting on such things, recovered guns frequently flag “stolen.” At times in mass shootings when the perpetrators are captured, or take their own lives, it turns out they legally purchased the guns they used (Las Vegas, Fort Hood, Isla Vista, Aurora to name just a few).
Thanks so much for reading and sharing AmmoLand News.
How many guns have changed hands legally but without record? How many criminals buy their firearms anyway, as opposed to stealing them or buying them from someone who in turn stole them? Very few guns are traceable to the perpetrator of a crime, unless it’s from fingerprints, so what does it matter if they can’t be traced because they were stolen or because they were never serialized? The article mentions that CBS says only 12% of the guns seized by NYPD were “ghost” guns, but then CBS says its hard to know for sure because of the difficulty in tracing… Read more »
Article Dave quoted says that AFT is rewriting regulations defining which piece is a firearm requiring serialization. My understanding is that that definition is in the law, and that the law did not provide for AFT to apply regulatory-judgement.
As others have stated, Biden is attempting to legislate through the AFT. Guess he’s lost so much of his mind that he has no grasp on separation of powers (if he ever had any). I suspect at this point he’s forgotten that the house of representatives, senate and courts exist – beyond being fan clubs for him.
‘AFT’…?? Finnky, you appear to have been listening to the president too carefully!
Thanks for reading AMMOLAND.
Thanks Dave. At first writing “AFT” was deliberate mockery of Biden’s repeated gaffs, however over time I’ve grown attached to the moniker. Seems slightly more polite than writing “FATF” – which is a more accurate expression of my feelings toward them, their mission, their attitude, and their actions.
He considers the Senate and House to be impediments to establishing a perfect dictatorship. They have entirely too many pesky republicans. If only they were like the snakes in business attire, Romney, Murkowski, and Collins, they would be controllable. I’m expecting him any day to dissolve Congress like his hero Emperor Palpatine.
Thx to Trump the next RINO will be anti-gun dual-Turkish-citizen Mehmet Oz. The alternative is as bad: “cheap labor” ¡JEB! globalist McCormick.
“A review of his broadcasts suggests Dr. Oz used his show to promote transgender ideology, including mastectomies on healthy teen girls & drugs to prevent puberty.”
-Michael Geer, CEO, Pennsylvania Family Institute
“The Oz campaign did not present any instances where he invited a critic of transgenderism to appear on his program.”
Unsurprising, since Mehmet has dual citizenship with Turkey, a “Religion of Peace” haven for pedos.
Reminds me of the old joke: “If Russia entered Turkey from behind, would Greece help?”
Some nice pedophile downvotes there.
The House and Senate might remind old Joe and his handlers if the repubs are successful in November.
The last time I checked, the president is not authorized to unilaterally make a “law”. Therefore, he can go F&#K himself. Let’s go Brandon!
The good news about executive orders is that whatever one POTUS creates by “stroke of the pen, law of the land”, the next or succeeding presidents can nullify by a stroke of his/her pen, as Obama, Trump, and Biden happily showed us.
In a system where very little ever gets repealed, executive orders are about as ephemeral as it gets.
And the progressives respond: ‘What Constitution?’
Never believe the ‘gun grabber’s’ statistics! I have no doubt that a majority of the so-called “recovered ghost guns” were more than likely stolen firearms with the serial numbers removed, with these added to inflate statistics! I’d like to see some proof from the NYPD Chief!
Exactly what I was thinking, George. I’m not picturing groups of gang members sitting around a garage with jigs, drilling, and inserting seers, triggers, etc. Filing off serial numbers, yes, but ghost gun buildig, no.
Do my eyes deceive me or was Joe attempting to show us how to make what he calls an illegal gun?
Before you know Joe will be telling us to fire two blasts of a shotgun out the back door.
I don’t trust Joe, he kills people w/o any weapon.
“According to ATF’s National Tracing Center, on average more than 1,300 firearms a year are untraceable because the federally licensed firearms dealer destroyed the relevant records that were more than 20 years old.”
I wonder what U.S. Border Patrol BORTAC Agent, and fellow U.S. Marine Brian Terry would have to say about all of this?
Mr. Workman, whenever are you going to do a piece on the many UPIN numbers that the FBI NICS background check system has to issue for their screwing-up, committing un-constitutional ex-post fact and other civil rights violations of citizens that “walk the plank” with their bogus background check system?