Nearly four dozen gun control groups sent a letter giving President Joe Biden an ultimatum: Get on the move with more gun control or else.
“As we made clear in our 2020 letter, gun violence is not acceptable,” the letter states. “The administration can, and must, do more in 2022 … We implore your administration to use the authority of the office.”
Buried in the groups’ anti-Second Amendment screed was a broadside against the organization that regulates the firearm industry, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. They demanded the ATF sever ties with the firearm industry and, in doing so, proved how unserious they are about addressing the criminal misuse of firearms and keeping firearms away from people who shouldn’t have them.
Buried in the letter is a shocking reveal: The groups demand the White House “stop funding, partnering, or co-branding programs with the National Sports Shooting Foundation via the Department of Justice and other Federal Agencies” and “no longer should the ATF hold private briefing and training sessions at NSSF’s annual SHOT SHOW.”
The National Shooting Sports Foundation, the firearm industry trade association, has long-standing partnerships with the Department of Justice and the ATF. These have led directly to safer communities through programs such as Don’t Lie for the Other Guy and Operation Secure Store, both part of the firearm industry’s Real Solutions. Safer Communities initiative, and Project ChildSafe, a component of the DOJ’s Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Don’t Lie is a 20-plus-year partnership between the ATF, the DOJ, and the firearm industry to help the ATF educate firearm retailers and their staff to be better able to spot and stop illegal straw purchases of firearms. The program, funded entirely by the NSSF, also provides public service announcements to warn the public that lying on the federal form purchasers must fill out and swear to when buying a firearm from a dealer is a serious felony. If an individual lies on the form, claiming that they are the purchaser when they are really buying the gun for someone else, then they are making an illegal “straw purchase.” It is a crime punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 dollars.
Operation Secure Store is a collaborative effort between the firearm industry and the ATF to help raise awareness among federal firearms licensees about “smash and grab” burglaries and gun thefts, helping them better secure their inventory and reduce the likelihood they will become victims of burglary. As part of the Operation Secure Store, the NSSF matches any ATF reward seeking information leading to the recovery of stolen guns and the arrest of the criminals responsible.
These collaborative efforts to reduce break-ins and gun thefts have demonstrated effective and meaningful results. Since Operation Secure Store was launched in 2017, federal firearms licensee burglaries and gun thefts have gone down every year, except for 2020, during the civil unrest. Burglaries have been cut by over 50%, and gun theft has dropped by 62%. The Operation Secure Store-ATF partnership is undeniably helping to make our communities safer.
In fact, ATF acting Director Marvin Richardson attended the NSSF’s SHOT Show 2022 and spoke with me about these critical programs, regulatory issues facing the industry, and compliance for firearm retailers.
The ATF has been coming to the SHOT Show for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Its booth is one of the busiest at the industry trade show, as manufacturers, retailers, and distributors speak with the ATF to ask questions and seek guidance on legal and regulatory compliance-related matters.
The ATF has for years hosted sold-out compliance-focused town hall seminars at SHOT Show, offering hundreds of industry retailers, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, and SHOT attendees an opportunity to ensure they are up to speed on important compliance and regulatory matters. Initiatives such as Don’t Lie and Operation Secure Store, as well as “Brave Conversation” suicide prevention efforts through the NSSF’s partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention are discussed. On top of that, the NSSF and the ATF partner to host dozens of satellite live outreach training seminars.
The NSSF’s Project ChildSafe firearm safety education campaign has received DOJ grant funding in addition to industry support and has distributed over 40 million firearm safety kits, including a free gun lock, all across the country. Accidental firearms deaths have been steadily declining since it was launched in 1999, according to the National Safety Council.
Eliminating the strong relationship among the ATF, the DOJ, federal agencies, and the firearm industry would do irreparable damage to efforts at making communities safer.
Another demand of these gun control groups was to “nominate and ensure confirmation” of a new director of the ATF “who will promote gun violence prevention values.” The authors wrote, “The nomination of David Chipman … was a bold move.” David Chipman, a paid gun control lobbyist with serious problems on his resume, failed to gain even the support of all Senate Democrats. The Senate Judiciary Committee tied on his nomination.
The firearm industry has a record of supporting ATF nominees that were qualified and respected from both Democratic and Republican presidents. The NSSF supported President Barack Obama’s nominee, B. Todd Jones, who was confirmed (and attended SHOT Show, as all ATF directors have). The NSSF has never opposed any ATF nominee who was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The letter also demands that the ATF require all federal firearms license employees to undergo a yearly background check. This is an idea from years ago that the firearms industry proposed to the Obama administration, which failed to act at the time despite Democratic control of the White House and both chambers of Congress. In fact, the employee background check requirement was even included in the 2013 bill advanced by Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Ted Cruz to address criminal gun misuse and strengthen background checks. That legislation was defeated by Senate Democrats.
The groups also demand that the administration “crack down on gun trafficking and gun dealers engaging in illegal acts.” But those efforts are already underway, in part due to the strong partnerships among the firearm industry, the ATF, the DOJ, and local law enforcement.
In short, national gun control groups are grasping at straws, trying to undermine partnerships that make everyone safer. Meanwhile, law-abiding people are empowering themselves with lawfully purchased firearms in historic numbers.
Lawrence Keane is the senior vice president of government and public affairs for the NSSF, the firearm industry trade association.
