OKLAHOMA CITY (May 2, 2024) – Attorney General Drummond is pushing back against a would-be rule by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that would prevent law-abiding Americans from privately selling firearms without becoming federally licensed as a firearms dealer. Drummond is part of a 21-state lawsuit challenging the proposal in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
“In states like Oklahoma, it is a regular occurrence for a gun owner to sell or trade firearms with trusted friends and family,” said Drummond. “These individuals are violating no laws and they are well within their rights to sell or trade firearms without a license because it is not in the ordinary course of their business. I do not wish for law-abiding Oklahomans to be forced to seek licensure as a firearms dealer just to sell a single firearm. This rule is an outrageous violation of our constitutional rights and an affront to the common sense of every Oklahoma gun owner I know.”
The rule seeks to require a federal firearms dealer license for every individual who sells a firearm for anything that the ATF deems as a profit, including currency, exchange of another firearm, or a service. It would criminalize a gun owner who sells a firearm to another family member or of a hunter who trades a firearm with a hunting buddy.
“Until now, those who repetitively purchased and sold firearms as a regular course of business had to become a licensee… This rule would put innocent firearm sales between law-abiding friends and family members within reach of federal regulation,” the court filing reads. “Such innocent sales between friends and family would constitute a felony if the seller did not in fact obtain a federal firearms license and perform a background check.”
In the suit filed yesterday, the coalition of attorneys general argues that the rule is unconstitutional because it is vague, violates the Second Amendment and circumvents Congress.
Drummond said the rule would have no impact on gun deaths or mass shootings.
“This unlawful licensure requirement would not prevent a single one of the tragic gun deaths that happen throughout America each year,” Drummond said. “Criminals will still have access to guns, legal or otherwise. Whether it is a devastating mass shooting or a gang-related gun death, the individuals who commit these heinous crimes always seem to secure a firearm. Burdening law-abiding citizens engaging in innocent transactions will not save a single life, but it likely will ruin lives by criminalizing lawful actions.”
In addition to Drummond, the lawsuit includes attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Read the court filing at https://www.oag.ok.gov/sites/g/files/gmc766/f/documents/2024/2024-05-01_...
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