The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced on April 7th that the agency is repealing a controversial Federal Firearms Administrative Action Policy known to dealers as the Zero Tolerance Policy.
This Biden administration measure was introduced to target firearms dealers over minor errors in documentation, creating an environment of fear and uncertainty for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFL) across the country.
“For years, the Zero Tolerance Policy has been a tool of political retribution—targeting gun stores and Americans who were simply trying to exercise their rights. We applaud President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Kash Patel for listening to gun owners and taking action to repeal this abusive policy. This is what pro-gun leadership looks like,” Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America said in a statement.
While putting law-abiding Americans and business owners on notice that they will be targeted and scrutinized to a level that constitutes bad faith is just another day in the leftist playbook, it seems that the Trump administration intends to leave the situation better than when they found it. While this affects FFLs directly, it seems repealing the Zero Tolerance Policy may just be at the top of the list, as Attorney General Pam Bondi and Acting ATF and FBI Director Kash Patel are also said to be formalizing reviews of the “Stabilizing Brace Rule” and the “Engaged in the Business Rule,” which targets citizens selling personal firearms in private transactions.
Since it’s fresh on my mind, I would like to invite Bondi and Patel to review the “Frame or Receiver Rule” that was recently adjudicated in Bondi v. VanDerStok, as I find the Supreme Court’s intentionally narrow approach to the case as a “facial challenge” lacking good faith. While I object to a regulatory agency of the executive branch issuing rules for which noncompliance is punishable to the full extent of the law, thus creating laws in effect, the silver lining is that they can simply be repealed by the DOJ and ATF under non-Bolshevik administrations. So Pam and Kash, keep going, we’re watching…
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re seeing a realignment toward the Constitution. This repeal and regulatory review of ATF’s ‘Zero Tolerance’ Policy sends a clear message that the era of Biden gun control is over. GOA is grateful for the administration’s commitment to restoring Second Amendment rights and standing with law-abiding gun owners nationwide,” says Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America.
Special thanks to Gun Owners of America for not only creating awareness concerning the ATF’s weaponization by the Biden administration but also for the sustained grassroots and legal pressure. As always, I caution the community when it comes to popping corks too soon, as these rules and repeals have a shelf life that lasts only until another crackhead’s father becomes President and starts the whole process over again.
Nonetheless, each of these steps had to be taken, so let’s hope the Trump administration continues down the path, hopefully to meaningful legislation that addresses larger ongoing federal-level infringements like the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA), the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), and the Hughes Amendment.
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