Last week, a significant legal development unfolded as America First Legal (AFL) and the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) achieved a victory against the Biden-Harris Administration. The Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) reversed its policy that allowed for the revocation of federal firearms sales licenses over minor paperwork errors.
The previous policy required an FFL holder to "willfully" violate paperwork provisions to lose their license. However, in 2021, the ATF redefined "willfulness," enabling the government to revoke licenses for typographical or inadvertent errors. This policy was part of a "zero-tolerance" approach towards gun dealers deemed rogue by violating laws. As a result, FFL revocations increased by more than 500 percent in one year, with three times as many gun store licenses revoked in 2022 compared to 2021.
In response, AFL and TPPF filed a lawsuit against the ATF to halt this conduct. With the case nearing a decision, ATF rescinded its policy and reverted to the statutory definition of willfulness.
AFL expressed satisfaction with standing alongside TPPF in defending Americans' constitutional rights related to firearms ownership and sales.
Nicholas Barry from America First Legal commented on the situation: "The ATF seems to have looked at our lawsuit and revised its incorrect application of federal law just as the Court was about to decide this case, and I suspect it would not have gone well for the Biden-Harris Administration. This type of lawlessness cannot be permitted. The Biden Administration knew it wasn’t applying the law faithfully, and now that it is on its way out of office — after harming hundreds of FFL license holders, it changed course. This is intolerable to a society based on the rule of law."