The ATF Attempts to Deny Non‐Binary and Trans Americans Guns
At the end of January, someone at the National Shooting Sports Federation asked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) about non-binary people purchasing firearms. The ATF responded that, despite gender non-binary licenses being acceptable identification, the individual must still select either “male” or “female” on the standard firearm transfer form 4473.
The ATF’s rigid, unreasoned response makes it clear there’s a huge disconnect between the purpose of the form, and the ATF’s interpretation. Form 4473, which everyone must fill out when they purchase a firearm from a federally licensed dealer, is intended to identify the purchaser of the firearm, have them confirm they are legally eligible to receive the firearm, and give enough identifying information to run a background check.
How can forcing a prospective gun owner to select “male” or “female” make any difference in identifying them when they have already provided a driver’s license, a home address, place of birth, full name, and even social security number? When a form has so much information, it’s clear that someone’s sex adds little to its ability to properly identify them. Even in the odd situation where completely filling out the form would still yield multiple results, the ATF offers the creation of Unique Personal Identification Numbers (UPIN’s). Still, even with all these avenues of precisely identifying a person, the ATF insists that dealers may not transfer a firearm to a purchaser who refuses to “check the box.”
Guns and LGBTQ rights might seem like strange bedfellows in today’s political climate, but the pairing makes sense. We’ve known for a long time that LGBTQ people are frequent targets of violent crime. Thus their need for an effective means for self-defense is best served by robust access to firearms. Putting an arbitrary and demeaning barrier between sexually nonbinary individuals and access to a firearm hampers—or even eliminates—their ability to provide for their own defense.
An individual’s sexual identity has absolutely no bearing on their ability to safely own and operate a firearm. Whether you care more about gun rights or LGBTQ rights, you shouldn’t avert your eyes from this injustice. The ATF, in their directive to bar gun dealers from transferring firearms to individuals who refuse to select “male” or “female,” are worsening the status of a class of people predisposed to victimization.
There is no excuse for the ATF’s rigid and unreasoned stated policy. As long as the transferee provides sufficient information to identify themselves and enable a background check to be performed, there is no reason to deny them their natural right to arms. The ATF should reverse course, and in the future take proper stock of the rights of people who might be affected by such judgment calls.
