New Biden rule would require more firearm background checks, close ‘gun show loophole’

The Biden administration has unveiled a new proposed rule to clarify who is “engaged in business” as a firearms dealer, a move which will ultimately require more background checks for gun purchases.

The rule, introduced Thursday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, would broaden who is required to administer background checks. It also would close so-called loopholes by clarifying that anyone who sells guns in stores, online, at gun shows, through the mail or in flea markets, counts as a firearms dealer.

This proposal comes after President Biden signed an executive order requiring anyone who sells guns as their profession to be licensed.

Officials estimate that the new rule would affect between 24,500 to 328,000 sellers who are currently unlicensed.

Background checks are used to stop the sale of guns to convicted criminals, juveniles, and others who are legally not allowed to own them according to ATF Director Steven M. Dettelbach. He said that unlicensed dealers sell guns “without keeping records and without observing the other crucial public safety requirements.”

Those who buy and sell guns from their personal collection as a hobby do not need a license under the new rule. The proposal will be open to public comment for 90 days.

Justice Department officials said the rule, if implemented, would improve gun safety.

“I think it’s appropriate to view this as a critical piece of our implementation efforts, but just one piece of the mosaic of efforts that the department has undertaken,” a senior Justice Department official told reporters in a press call.

The rule would also clarify how a former licensed dealer can lawfully get rid of extra inventory after their license has been terminated, and how one licensed individual can transfer a gun to another licensee.

There have been 478 mass shootings this year in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as incidents with a minimum of four victims either injured or killed.

A gun owners’ group said the action will expand what it called the government’s “illegal gun registry.”

“First, they said five guns, but now, anyone who sells a single firearm in a given year and makes even a penny of profit will be subject to dealer requirements, including a background check,” said Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America. “People need to realize this is just the next step in the anti-gunners’ longform playbook to enact backdoor universal registration of firearms, and eventually, to confiscate all firearms. They will not stop until that day.”  

Gun safety groups are rejoicing at the proposed rule.

One group, Brady: United Against Gun Violence, said that the rule defining “engaged in business” of selling firearms has been needed for decades and that this clear definition will get the U.S. closer to “universal background checks.”

“Today, more than 1 in 5 gun sales in the U.S. are conducted without a background check, amounting to millions of guns per year ending up in the hands of people who aren’t allowed to buy them,” said Kris Brown, president of Brady. “This rule expands requirements for gun dealers to become licensed and conduct background checks, closing a massive loophole in our live-saving background checks system.”