ATF: Laws are for the Little People

That’s the only message I can take away from the ATF proposal to require Federal Firearm License (FFL) holders to report the sale of two or more semiautomatic rifles that accept detachable magazines in states along the border with Mexico. In other words, this is gun control for the sake of Mexico.

Thing is, the proposal breaks the law. The ATF doesn’t have the authority to do this.

As David Hardy notes at Of Arms & the Law:

There are several violations of the Gun Control Act, as amended by the Firearm Owners' Protection Act. First, 18 USC §926(b) provides "The Attorney General shall give not less than ninety days public notice, and shall afford interested parties opportunity for hearing, before prescribing such rules and regulations." This is stricter than the Admin Procedure Act's general provision for a "reasonable" comment period, and it has no emergency exceptions. ATFE is only giving 30 days' notice.

Second, the FOPA amendments were intended to cut off future requirements of direct reporting -- I say future because the existing regs (including reporting of multiple handgun sales were grandfathered in, but limited to those specific requirements. Thus far and no farther.

The ATF’s action provokes a court contest over the limits of the agency’s powers, which are clearly being exceeded. The litigation will provide another opportunity for Hardy’s excellent article about the legislative history of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act to get cited in federal court.

All of this is unnecessary and lawless. There is a legitimate way for allowing the ATF to take this action: amend the law. Instead the Executive is ruling by regulatory fiat, damaging and degrading the rule of law. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of that going around these days.