According to a watchdog group, whistleblowers at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are raising concerns about a purported 1,300-page draft document that purports to support a new regulation that would essentially outlaw private gun sales.
“The difficulty of the situation this proposed regulation would place the ATF in is demonstrated by the fact that inside ATF sources are leaking information about it. Tristan Leavitt, head of watchdog group Empower Oversight, stated in a press release on Wednesday that “ATF agents did not sign up to go after law-abiding citizens for private sales protected under the Second Amendment of the Constitution.”
The organization demanded information and records on Wednesday morning from Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of the ATF Steven M. Dettelbach regarding rumors circulated by whistleblowers that the agency was getting ready to draft a rule mandating background checks for the majority, if not all, gun sales.
The letter explains that the organization was informed by “two sources in the ATF that at the direction of the White House, the ATF has drafted a 1,300-page document in support of a rule that would effectively ban private sales of firearms from one citizen to another by requiring background checks for every sale.”
NRA TORCHES BIDEN ADMIN FOR PLAN TO AMEND GUN BUYING AND SELLING RULES
The letter was sent in response to the Biden administration’s calls for more stringent gun laws, which included the ATF’s introduction of ATF2022R-17 in August. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, a gun control measure signed by President Biden in 2022, would be incorporated into the agency’s regulations through the proposed rule, also known as “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms.”
