As part of President Biden’s gun control agenda and a bipartisan gun safety law passed in 2022, the Department of Justice proposed new rules Thursday to crack down on unregulated firearm sales.
The new regulations at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives would clarify the language required for licensed gun sales and when a dealer is “engaged in the business.” Biden signed an executive order in March directing DOJ to implement the rules.
While most dealers are following the law, an increasing number of individuals are trying to profit in “off-book, illicit sale of firearms,” ATF Director Steve Dettelbach said. “These activities undermine the law, endanger public safety, create significant burdens on law enforcement, and are unfair to the many licensed dealers who make considerable efforts to follow the law,” he said.
The rules came as part of the gun-safety package passed by Congress in the wake of the Uvalde, Texas Robb Elementary School and Buffalo, New York supermarket shootings in spring 2022.