U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-GA, is leading efforts to prohibit the implementation of a proposed rule that would require private citizens to obtain a federal firearms license, conduct a background check and complete gun registration paperwork to sell even a single firearm.
Clyde, along with several members of the Georgia congressional delegation recently introduced legislation, the Stopping Unconstitutional Background Checks Act, to prohibit the implementation of and funding for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives’ (ATF) proposed rule titled “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms.”
In all, 108 members of Congress signed the legislation. Included were members of the Georgia Republican delegation including Rep. Rick Allen, Rep. Mike Collins, Rep. Drew Ferguson Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Rep., Rich McCormick and Rep. Austin Scott.
“This proposed rule marks the Biden Administration’s latest attempt to infringe on Americans’ Second Amendment rights, institute universal background checks, and advance the Left’s radical gun control agenda,” said Clyde, who owns an Athens gun store. “Private citizens should not be forced to jump through unelected anti-gun bureaucrats’ unconstitutional hurdles in order to engage in lawful firearms transactions. The ATF’s concerning pattern of criminalizing the American people for exercising their unalienable right to keep and bear arms must be met with swift congressional action. My legislation provides a simple solution to block the implementation of and funding for this unlawful, convoluted, and burdensome rule — protecting Americans’ Second Amendment liberties from the Biden Administration’s nefarious overreach.”
According to Clyde, on August 30th, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland signed the ATF’s notice of proposed rulemaking 2022R-17, “Definition of ‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms,” which redefines language pertaining to buying and selling guns.
“While Congress has made it clear that the federal government may not create a registry of guns and gun owners, that’s not stopping Joe Biden’s ATF from using every tool in its arsenal to weaponize the background check system to build a digital database of firearm transaction records. This backdoor ‘Universal Background Check’ rule, which attempts to require anyone selling just one gun in a year to keep gun registration paperwork, is a violation of the Second Amendment and is only enforceable with ATF’s illegal gun registry — which the ATF Director admits is already very real,” said Aidan Johnston, the Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America.
