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Date: 11/30/2023
Subject: The ATF Needs to Hear from You
From: Rionda Osman



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Use your voice !

 

We have the opportunity to weigh in as individuals on rule-making by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  The ATF seeks to define and "clarify when a person is 'engaged in the business' as a dealer in firearms at wholesale or retail."  In brief, a person 'engaged in the business' would be required to obtain a Federal license and conform to Federal law, including conducting background checks, when selling a firearm. 

 

Your comment as an individual will add to the nearly 300,000 comments that had been submitted as of Tuesday.  Submit your comments by Thursday, 7 December 2023. The website address is :  https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2023/09/08/2023-19177/definition-of-engaged-in-the-busines

 

Upload your file as a PDF and indicate in the "Comment" box that your submission is attached.  If you'd like help with submission, contact me (rionda.osman@gmail.com). 

 

Information and Resources

Below are some resources for you to use as you formulate a comment: 
 
ATF Request for Comments:
Definition of "Engaged in the Business" as a Dealer in Firearms
 
Press Release from Department of Justice, 31 August 2023
 
LWVUS Submits Comments to ATF on the Definition of a Firearms Dealer
 

Background Checks Are Hard to Count

Obviously, it is difficult to know how many guns are sold or transferred without background checks, but estimates turn around a stomach-churning 20%, with caveats made for 'sold by licensed dealers' versus 'sold, traded, or gifted' by others.   An article dated in 2017 from the Guardian quoted survey results of 20% of Americans obtaining guns without background checks (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/02/guns-state-background-checks-study).  To complicate matters, the news site FiveThirtyEight published a story in 2021 recounting the difficulties the FBI has in completing background checks (More People Are Buying Guns. Fewer People Are Getting Background Checks.  Amid a surge in gun sales, the FBI didn’t complete over 316,000 gun background checks last year.  https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/more-people-are-buying-guns-fewer-people-are-getting-background)
 
Latest figures for guns sold in 2022 are approximately 17.4 million, and 1.4 million guns have been sold each month in 2023 according to Rob Gabriele of SafeHome.org (https://www.safehome.org/data/firearms-guns-statistics/). 

LWVColorado Response

With the approval of the Legislative Action Committee, the following paragraphs were inserted into the LWVUS model.  I submitted the Comment earlier this week: 
 

The Colorado Legislature enacted in the last two sessions a robust set of legislation to regulate gun sales:  age limitations, 3-day waiting period, required serialization of firearms and components.  This legislation also provided for Extreme Risk Protection Orders, extended consumer protections to gun customers and victims, and established an Office of Gun Violence Prevention.  Some of these measures are being defined in court cases, but, on the whole, they are providing protection to our citizens.

 

We are justifiably proud of the progress we have made in promoting gun safety in Colorado.  Colorado is one of 14 states that require background checks at the point of sale and/or permits for all transfers, including purchases from unlicensed sellers.  In 2020 more than 14,000 people failed background checks and were denied a firearm.  In 2022, nearly 7,000 people failed, according to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.

 

Closing the loopholes nationwide that allow purchases without background checks is an important step in improving the safety of our citizens.  These loopholes currently enable thousands of people who are not allowed to purchase firearms to do so.  These loopholes also prevent law enforcement from tracing guns used in crimes.

 

Clarifying who should be licensed firearms dealers and what their responsibilities are is a key step in fairly regulating firearms sales. 

 
 

Send your comments by Thursday, 7 December 2023. 


 



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