Ben Shapiro Trashes Biden's New Background Check Rules

On Thursday, President Joe Biden announced that the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) submitted its proposed gun dealer licensing rule for publication. The rule sets out what will determine when somebody selling firearms from their personal colletion must get a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and adds a few new ones. Biden said the changes were designed to force more gun sellers to conduct background checks before the sale can be completed. The rule points to several specific steps for determining if somebody is selling guns “predominantly for a profit” as a business. But it is still not specific on how many guns somebody can sell or how much money they can make before needing a license.

Stephen Gutsowski wrote over at The Reload (behind the pay wall) that it will likely impact how Americans sell guns, but not in the way most people probably think.

But, despite the fanfare and claims of the Biden Administration, it doesn’t significantly change the ATF’s position on who needs a license. Nor does it outlaw private sales by unlicensed people at gun shows or elsewhere.

It’s true the rule says there’s no specific number of sales that determines who needs a license. It says it doesn’t matter where a sale takes place. It says renting a table at a gun show could indicate somebody is engaged in the business.

But that’s what the ATF has been saying for a very long time. None of this is new. If you look back at a similar move under the Obama Administration in 2016, you’ll find many of the same talking points at play. One of the big talking points at the time was even those selling a single gun could have to get a license–something repeated in this rule.

“ATF will make clear that whether you are ‘engaged in the business’ depends on the facts and circumstances,” White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett said at the time. “On factors such as: whether you represent yourself as a dealer, such as making business cards or taking credit card statements. Whether you sell firearms shortly after they’re acquired or whether you buy or sell in the original packaging.”

The ATF’s 2016 guide to determining whether you need an FFL hits all the major factors included in the new rule, too.

Podcaster Ben Shapiro addressed the issue today on his show and he said this is just one more piece of the radical Democrat agenda, and that it won't have any impact on crime.  Shapiro, a gun owner, said the rule is likely to be challenged in court like most of the other gun related rules the Biden Administration has released.