Democrat President Joe Biden’s administration is moving to ban private guns sale under new a federal rule planned by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF). If the proposed rule comes to pass, most gun owners can forget about selling their privately owned firearms to friends or family.
The Biden admin is planning on enacting the new ATF rule that would bar gun owners from selling firearms for a profit without a Federal Firearms License.
The plan was revealed in an agency leak verified by AmmoLand.
The Biden admin seeks to enact the rule in 2024 and is pushing to do so without new legislation from Congress.
The federal government plans to use the existing Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to justify cracking down on private gun sales.
The gun control legislation was signed into law last year.
However, despite the objections of Second Amendment advocates, some Republicans supported the law.
According to The New York Times, only those who derived their “chief livelihood” from trade in firearms were previously legally obligated to possess an FFL.
Under the BSCA, individuals trading guns “to predominantly earn a profit” are defined as “gun sellers.”
This development is what the federal government intends to use to restrict most firearms sales to FFL licensees.
Yet another example of Fudds giving the Disarmament Regime all that it wanted in last year's BSCA.
And naturally, the ATF is looking to take full advantage.
We see you…👀…🖨️ pic.twitter.com/IMLsS8HEbA
— Firearms Policy Coalition (@gunpolicy) August 11, 2023
The measure would heavily impact online marketplaces in which gun owners trade firearms.
The changes would prevent them from selling the guns for more than they purchased them for.
Everyday gun owners could even be criminally charged for selling guns without the proper licensing after the rule takes effect, with many of them unaware of a change in the law.
Gun sales would also be concentrated among the limited number of FFL licensees under the idea, potentially raising prices for purchasers.
According to the Times, Biden’s Department of Justice and ATF officials are working together to draft the rule.
Federal officials are eyeing the second half of 2024 to formally enact it.
Biden criticized online trade in firearms as a candidate, pledging to ban the practice entirely.
However, he pledged to do so through legislation, rather than an executive order urging a federal agency to reinterpret an existing law.
BIDEN: "You go to a gun show, you can buy whatever you want–no background check." pic.twitter.com/TbvfDPEwlp
— Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) April 8, 2021
Nevertheless, it’s likely an administrative attempt to clamp the market in private gun sales will meet legal challenges.
As Just the News notes, the ATF’s bid to regulate pistol braces was shot down by a federal appeals court earlier this month.