Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Gun Control Group Hopes to Smear U.S. Firearms Industry with New Website

Monday, January 24, 2022

Gun Control Group Hopes to Smear U.S. Firearms Industry with New Website

We all knew who the finger-pointers and tattletales were in junior high school. A disproportionate number of them, it seems, now populate Americas anti-gun lobby.

The oft-rebranded gun control organization currently calling itself Brady United Against Gun Violence (Brady) launched a website this week called The Gun Store Transparency Project.

This site is the result of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigation Brady engaged in against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to obtain certain ATF reports from inspections of Federal Firearm Licensees. Brady is now making those reports available to the public.

These reports, however, are not a random or representative sampling of ATFs inspection efforts but contain only those in which the ATF issued an FFL a Warning Letter or more severe remedy … .”

In other words, the site completely ignores any inspection report -- which in 2020 comprised over 60% of them -- that did not result in findings of violations or sanctions.

Brady claims the purpose of the website is so the American public will no longer be kept in the dark about businesses that contribute to gun violence in their communities, and whether federal authorities are failing to hold them accountable.”

But is every business cataloged on the site contributing to gun violence in their communities” simply because it was found, in some fashion, to be in non-compliance with the reams of federal laws and regulations that apply to licensed gun sellers?

The answer, of course, is no.

There is no mystery to which sorts of violations will land an FFL in serious trouble with ATF. The agency publishes them on its own website:

In addition to a refusal to allow an IOI to conduct an inspection, each of the following violations, absent extraordinary circumstances, will also result in ATF issuing a notice of revocation:

  • Transferring a firearm to a prohibited person
  • Failing to conduct a required background check
  • Falsifying records
  • Failing to respond to a trace request

These are the sorts of violations that pose the most obvious risk of a firearm falling into dangerous hands or that could impede law enforcement authorities from conducting a legitimate regulatory or criminal investigation.

None of these, however, appear on the ATFs list of the 10 most frequently cited violations during ATF firearms inspections” in 2020.

Instead, these violations” are mostly the types of bookkeeping errors that are likely to occur in any context in which transactions are subject to a highly bureaucratic process that involves multiple ledger entries, forms, requirements for the production and recording of identification, and database inquiries.

Examples of the most common violations,” according to the ATF, include [f]ailure to complete forms as prescribed” and missing signatures or dates.

Indeed, one of the reasons the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) itself doesnt always work as intended is because the millions of mostly government forms and computer entries on which it relies are themselves commonly incomplete, ambiguous, or simply erroneous.

This is why the ATF inspection process is not always or even usually a harshly punitive endeavor. Rather, it can also serve to help these heavily regulated businesses identity areas of operation or processes that need to be improved. The process, for example, includes a post-inspection conference so the FFL has an opportunity to respond to the alleged violations, initiate corrective actions, ask questions, and review relevant federal firearms laws and regulations with the inspectors.

This is also why the NRA supported the landmark Firearms Owners Protection Act in 1986, which ensured that the ATF inspection process could not be abused by anti-gun administrations simply to reduce the number of FFLs by any means possible.

To some degree, the process is similar to a students report card, which can help with self-assessment and identify areas in need of improvement. But, just as academic report cards are not necessarily or usually about finding a pretext to kick the student out of school, ATF compliance inspections are not necessarily or usually aimed at shutting down the FFL.

There is no college degree specifically aimed at running a gun shop. FFLs are often small businesses that face the challenge not just of complying with federal law but the business, licensing, and zoning laws of states and localities as well. Some learning inevitably occurs on the job. It is hardly surprising that boxes sometimes get missed on forms, serial numbers get transposed, or someone forgets to make a copy of an identification document.

Fortunately, these scrivener type mistakes rarely have any material impact on public safety. That ATF usually recognizes this is laudatory and does not mean the agency is lax in holding industry members accountable.

As much as Brady may hate the idea, commerce in firearms is a legitimate, constitutionally protected business in the United States. There is nothing inherently shady or suspect about it, and members of the firearms industry should not be portrayed as criminals or public menaces for every mistake that winds up on a bureaucratic report. The inspectors themselves, after all, have to justify the work that they do and would risk total irrelevance and constantly diminishing resources if their labor didnt generate some sort of corrective action now and then.

Ironically, Bradys effort mostly underscores that FFLs operate within a heavily regulated environment and still mostly manage to do so safely, accurately, and with high levels of compliance.

It is true, as Brady asserts, that the ATF does not have the resources to inspect every single FFL right up to the legal limit. But the big picture that emerges from the ATFs own published data from inspections that do occur strongly indicates that would be a waste of time and resources, anyway. 

TRENDING NOW
Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Declassified Document: Biden-Harris Administration Targeted Gun Owners and Second Amendment Rights Under “Domestic Terrorism” Pretext

On April 16, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made good on a promise to expose the ways in which the Biden administration had weaponized the federal government against its political adversaries by releasing the Biden-era “Strategic Implementation Plan ...

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

News  

Friday, March 21, 2025

Trump Administration Revives Federal Firearm Rights Restoration Provision

On March 20, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) published an interim final rule entitled, Withdrawing the Attorney General’s Delegation of Authority. That bland title belies the historic nature of the measure, which is aimed at reviving ...

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

Federal Court in Massachusetts Enforces Range Access Statute in Pathbreaking Case

It has happened before in Massachusetts: A small, hardy band of armed Americans faces off against elements of the most powerful military in the world and commits a revolutionary act that paves the way for ...

Germany Strips “Extremist” AfD Members, Supporters of Gun Licenses, Guns

News  

Monday, April 14, 2025

Germany Strips “Extremist” AfD Members, Supporters of Gun Licenses, Guns

It’s been only a few years since the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a resolution calling the NRA a “domestic terrorist organization.” 

Trump DOJ Creates Second Amendment Task Force to Undo Damage of Biden Era

News  

Monday, April 14, 2025

Trump DOJ Creates Second Amendment Task Force to Undo Damage of Biden Era

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) formally announced the creation of a Second Amendment Task Force with Attorney General Pam Bondi declaring, “It is the policy of the Department of Justice to use its full ...

Washington: Permit to Purchase Bill Passes Senate

Tuesday, April 15, 2025

Washington: Permit to Purchase Bill Passes Senate

On Monday, April 14th, the Senate passed House Bill 1163, the permit-to-purchase scheme, along party lines. It will now return to the House for concurrence with amendments made in the Senate. NRA members must urge ...

Tennessee: Pro-Gun Bills Advance to Governor's Desk

Monday, April 21, 2025

Tennessee: Pro-Gun Bills Advance to Governor's Desk

Last week, the Tennessee legislature passed two pro-gun bills, advancing them to Governor Bill Lee's desk for his consideration.

DOJ Drops Controversial NFA Charge Against Pardoned Jan. 6 Protestor

News  

Monday, April 21, 2025

DOJ Drops Controversial NFA Charge Against Pardoned Jan. 6 Protestor

Last February, NRA-ILA’s reporting exposed the case of Taylor Taranto, a pardoned January 6 protestor separately arrested on firearm charges in Washington, D.C. 

Tennessee: Legislative Session Adjourns with Wins for Gun Owners & the Firearm Industry

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Tennessee: Legislative Session Adjourns with Wins for Gun Owners & the Firearm Industry

Yesterday, April 22nd, the Tennessee General Assembly adjourned its 2025 legislative session. Two pro-gun bills received final passage and have been transmitted to Governor Lee’s desk for consideration:      

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Wednesday, April 23, 2025

Florida: Legislation to Remove 2A Restrictions During Emergencies Sent to Governor’s Desk

Today, companion bills Senate Bill 952 and House Bill 6025, protecting our Second Amendment Rights during a state of emergency, received final passage from the legislature and will now head to Governor DeSantis's desk for his consideration.  

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.