The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has unveiled its new rule defining what is a gun dealer. The rule will not go into effect 30 days after it is posted to the Federal Register.
The ATF decided to issue a new rule on who is required to get a federal firearm license (FFL) at the behest of the Biden Administration. The Bureau claims it was granted the power to change the rule under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA), passed with some Republican support. Although many gun groups warned Congress of the dangers of passing the bill, their concerns were ignored, and the significance of the bill was downplayed by Republicans like John Cornyn.
The new ATF regulation would require thousands of private sellers to get FFLs for selling as little as a single firearm.
The rule changes a dealer from someone who sells a gun with the “principal objective of livelihood and profit” to “predominantly earn a profit.” According to the new rule, the government doesn’t have to prove the gun seller intends to make a profit by selling the firearm. The rule puts the burden of proof on the accused. The seller would be “presumed” to be in business and an unlicensed dealer. Although this rule only applies to civil and administrative cases due to the presumption of innocence in criminal cases, the rule says the jury in criminal cases can be told of a person being found acting as an unlicensed dealer in a civil case, which many see as a legal loophole.
Click the link to read the whole article: ATF Unveils New Change
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