House Republicans recently issued a warning to the American public that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is laying the groundwork for a massive backdoor federal gun registry.
Representative Michael Cloud (R-TX) spearheaded a letter signed by 51 of his colleagues to Marvin Richardson, the acting ATF Director, expressing concern about a rule proposed by the agency which Republicans fear is a step toward a national gun registry, something explicitly deemed illegal.
The recently-proposed rule from BATFE removes the 20-year disposal date for federal firearm licensees, requiring all licensed dealers to retain copies of every gun purchase for over two decades.
Preserving records doesn’t sound like a big deal, and its been the status quo for many years now, but the devil in the details is that federal firearm licensees must submit their sales records to the BATFE when they close shop. Removing the 20 year limit means that every gun owner’s purchase history would end up in the hands of the BATFE.
Cloud spoke to Fox News, saying that the Biden administration is abusing its political leverage, doing its best to encroach on law-abiding citizens’ constitutional rights while ignoring real threats against America.
Cloud explained that the BATFE’s latest internal proposal – lawmaking not done by elected representatives – represents “a giant leap toward… federal firearm registry.” Cloud added that removing the 20 year burn-date is a tactic that the Biden administration hopes to use to collect information on America’s gun owners, with the ultimate purpose of a national registry.
Gun Owners of America’s director of federal affairs, Aidan Johnston, explained that the BATFE would be handed over every background check and record of sale reaching back to 2001 if the rule gets enacted. He said that “100% of firearms transactions” in that time period would be known by the federal government.
The letter by Cloud and his fellow lawmakers expresses concern over the 54.7 million records that the BATFE has collected in 2021 alone. The letter calls out the agency for their outrageous maintenance of “such extensive records” of firearm transactions.
The letter further points out that a federal gun registry is explicitly prohibited by law under the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act. It adds that the move is cause for serious concern that Biden’s administration is pushing hard for a federal gun registry by any means possible, including circumventing the legislative process.
Author: Brandon Evans
