When Paperwork Became the Policy: Firearms Regulation During the Biden Era

Opinion by: Alan J Chwick

Though the word WOKE has been used to describe everything from pronouns to policing, under the Biden Regime, it found a new target: GUN POLICY.

The critics of President Biden often charge his administration with advancing “firearms wokeness.” That label became very catchy, but it obscured what was really going on. The Biden Regime’s approach to gun regulation was cultural crusading via a series of very aggressive administrative maneuvers, many of them through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Their strategy was born of political stalemate, a stalemate of Congress, divided and gridlocked, that had not passed any sweeping gun legislation in decades.

The Biden Regime created concerns over ghost guns and accessories like pistol braces, so the administration leaned on agencies to reinterpret statutes, revise forms, and expand enforcement priorities.

The result was significant regulatory changes — and equally significant legal backlash.

The most striking example of attack was the humble ATF Form 4473 (Revised August 2023), the firearms transaction record that every gun buyer must complete from a lawful dealer. In 2023 and 2024, the form underwent an overhaul. Dealers must now identify “Privately Made Firearms” (PMFs), ensure that ghost guns are recorded distinctly from factory-made guns. Buyers are now asked new questions about whether they intend to resell or transfer firearms for profit—language designed to flag straw purchasers and traffickers. And for those under 21, the form now documents delays tied to extended background checks mandated by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022) (BSCA).

The most WOKE and insidious feature of these 4473 changes was to Question 14 (Sex), where “Non-Binary” was added as an additional gender.

Despite all the lawsuits that followed, no one has yet challenged this modification, and thus, it remains on the form.

These changes were technical, but their effect is profound. They created paper trails for investigators and prosecutors, while raising huge compliance burdens for dealers and buyers. What once seemed like bureaucratic minutiae becomes frontline tools of federal gun policy and enforcement.

Many of these moves were even more controversial. ATF’s rule on PISTOL BRACES attempted to classify many brace-equipped pistols as short-barreled rifles, subject to strict regulation under the National Firearms Act of 1934. Millions of owners suddenly faced a choice: register, modify, or risk noncompliance (i.e., becoming felons). Lawsuits quickly followed, with courts questioning whether ATF had stretched its statutory authority.

A similar debate surrounded the definition of who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. Under a rule prompted by the BSCA, ATF broadened the standard for who must obtain a federal firearms license. Regulators argued it would curb unlicensed dealing (Read: Private Sales); while opponents warned it would ensnare casual hobbyists.

The highest-profile initiative involved GHOST GUNS — kits or unfinished frames, known as 80%’ers, that can be turned into functional firearms.

The Biden Regime sought to classify them as firearms, requiring serial numbers and background checks. Law enforcement hailed the move as essential to traceability, but critics countered that it criminalized a very longstanding historical tradition of home gunsmithing.

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So why the label “WOKENESS”?

For Biden critics, the rules targeted accessories and practices embraced by law-abiding gun owners, all while expanding bureaucratic paperwork. The rhetoric of community safety and harm reduction was really a cultural pivot away from individual rights. For supporters, these steps were overdue updates to a regulatory system designed for the 20th century, designed to end online parts kits and DIY manufacturing.

The truth, though, is simpler: the changes/modifications were regulatory improvisation. Agencies were filling gaps left by congressional inaction, pushing statutory [re]interpretation to its limits. That strategy was fast but fragile, as rules can be reversed by the next administration, and courts are already striking down pieces of the agenda. Important note: Chevron Deference has been overturned.

The Biden Regime’s “firearms wokeness” was MORE about ideology than about governance. It showed what happens when administrative agencies become the primary vehicle for gun policy in a polarized, tyrannical era.

The critics of the Biden Regime were right to worry about all of the governmental overreach.

About the author:

Alan J. Chwick, A.S., B.S., FL/NY/SC Paralegal is known for his involvement in legal articles usually related to firearm regulations and for his contributions to discussions on gun rights. Retired Managing Coach of the Freeport NY Junior Marksmanship Club (FreeportJuniorClub.org). Escaped New York State to South Carolina and is an SC FFL & Gunsmith (Everything22andMore.com).
[email protected] | TWITTER & TRUTHSOCIAL: @iNCNF

**1 This author, as an FFL in South Carolina, has recently sent a letter to President Trump addressing this issue. Anyone wishing to receive a TEMPLATE of this letter, email me at [email protected] and request the POTUS ATF TEMPLATE.

**2 Chevron deference consisted of a two-part test that was deferential to government agencies: first, whether Congress has spoken directly to the precise issue at question, and second, “whether the agency’s answer is based on a permissible construction of the statute.”

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