Kansas Representative Tracey Mann is reintroducing the Reining in Federal Licensing Enforcement (RIFLE) Act, a bill designed to defend the Second Amendment and protect firearms businesses as a measure to counter the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) zero-tolerance policy established in 2021 under the Biden administration. The policy is said to target willful violations by those holding a federal firearms license (FFL). However, the ATF has revoked over 250 FFLs since its inception, 20 in Kansas alone, drawing skepticism to the policy’s true intent.
Mann regards the rigid policy and its ultra-aggressive implementation as a continued attack on the Second Amendment and the firearms industry through the weaponization of the ATF under the former administration.
“President Biden did everything in his power to weaponize the federal government against gun store owners in the Big First District of Kansas and across the country… His zero-tolerance policy undermined the Second Amendment and trampled on the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. Since day one, I have rigorously pushed back against this unconstitutional policy and fought for more oversight to rein in ATF’s abuse,” according to Mann.
It should come as no surprise, as Mann points out, that the Biden administration’s ATF presided over record-high revocations, with 2024 seeing the largest number of FFL holders lose their licenses in the past 20 years.
“The Second Amendment is a load-bearing wall in our system of rights… If you weaken a load-bearing wall, the entire structure is compromised. The 500% spike in FFL revocations under President Biden is unacceptable, and it’s indicative of the President’s larger strategy to chip away at the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans,” says Representative Mann.
Some of the violations listed under the Gun Control Act that have been used as grounds for license revocation include the transfer of a firearm to a prohibited individual, failure to conduct a background check, falsification of records, not responding to a trace request, and refusing to allow the ATF to conduct an on-site inspection.
Mann is not the only one concerned, however, that the process is prone to abuse by design, allowing for vague interpretations of the law that favor revocation without proper discourse. Gun Owners of America has also played a large role in exposing Gestapo tactics, including multiple legal challenges to the zero-tolerance policy.
“Gun Owners of America has been at the forefront of the fight to unmask the ATF’s zero-tolerance policy and has now directly challenged the implementation of it twice in court… This policy is just one of the numerous intimidation tactics the Biden Administration has initiated to harass law-abiding gun owners and firearm dealers into submission, and GOA refuses to stand by and tolerate it. We urge the House to quickly act on Rep. Mann’s bill to rein in this rogue federal agency’s attacks on the Second Amendment,” according to Aidan Johnston, Director of Federal Affairs of Gun Owners of America.
The RIFLE Act would provide FFLs adequate time to respond and come into compliance with regulations while clearly defining the violation in no uncertain terms. The legislation will also establish an appeals procedure and protocols to reinstate licenses revoked during the no-tolerance period. Lastly, it would establish a government website to manage reimbursement claims.
The Trump administration has been busy correcting America’s course since the President’s inauguration last month. However, it remains to be seen how the 47th President of our nation will ultimately reign in the ATF and what measures the conservative majority in our current legislature will take to restore our rights under the Second Amendment. You remember, those that “shall not be infringed.”
