Washington – Today, Congressman Darrell Issa (CA-48) introduced legislation to protect gun store owners from new Biden Administration sanctions from the ATF that unfairly target these small businesses and the legal products they provide to customers.
Rep. Issa’s bill, the Fighting Irrational Regulatory Enforcement to Avert Retailers’ Misfortune (FIREARM) Act, provides a safe harbor for law-abiding Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders – granting them the ability to correct minor clerical mistakes and insulating them from ATF retribution.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) introduced the Senate companion of the FIREARM Act.
“From the beginning, this Administration has sought to undermine the Second Amendment and weaponize federal agencies against law-abiding citizens and family-owned small businesses targeted for being a part of the lawful firearms industry. This has delivered a transparently unfair assault on the fundamental rights of our fellow Americans, and that’s why my friend Senator Ernst and I are introducing the FIREARM Act. It’s time to stop this abuse of power and prevent it from ever happening again,” said Rep. Issa.
“Biden’s ATF has had it out for gun owners since day one. For years, the Biden administration has cracked down on law-abiding gun dealers to advance its gun-grabbing agenda, even preventing small businesses from making a living. Rather than helping dealers comply with the law, Biden’s ATF has created more hurdles to legally sell guns, so it can turn around and revoke licenses for inconsequential, so-called ‘violations.’ While Joe Biden’s ATF has avoided critical oversight on its FFL abuse for over a year, I am proud to stand up for law-abiding Iowa gun dealers,” said Senator Ernst.
Specifically, the FIREARM Act
- Creates a safe harbor for self-reported violations and provides FFLs 30 days to correct violations that are not self-reported;
- Requires ATF to work collaboratively with FFLs to fix violations;
- Explicitly defines willful to mean a voluntary, intentional violation of a known legal duty achieved through specific intent or deliberate planning;
- Gives FFLs the option of district court judicial review in cases of revocations if they do not wish to appeal in a hearing before the Attorney General.
The bill text can be found here.
Darrell Issa is the Representative of California’s 48th Congressional District. The District encompasses the central and eastern parts of San Diego County and a portion of Riverside County, including the communities of Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, Escondido, Santee, Lakeside, Poway, Temecula, Murrieta, and the mountain and desert areas of the San Diego-Imperial County line. Issa served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from 2011-2015.
