Brady Condemns New ATF Guidance for Gun Stores, “Unsafe and Indulgent”

Washington, D.C., April 10, 2020 - Today, Brady denounced the latest guidance issued by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) during the coronavirus pandemic that allows, among other new conventions, a “drive-up” window for gun transactions.

Brady President Kris Brown shared:

“We have repeatedly seen the Trump Administration put gun industry profits over people throughout the COVID-19 response, notably by designating gun stores as ‘essential critical infrastructure.’ The latest guidance from ATF to gun stores continues this alarming trend.

This guidance circumvents established safety procedures and long-standing protocols with the sole purpose of indulging the gun industry. Its provisions are patently unsafe.

At a time when we need our federal government to put the interests and safety of its people first, the Trump Administration has once again put profits over people. The Administration has used broad interpretations of the federal Gun Control Act to suggest that FFLs conduct business at a drive-by or walk-up window, as if they were a McDonalds, or at a temporary table or booth, as if they were a lemonade stand, removing the protective influence that responsible gun dealers can have on stopping the proliferation of crime guns and on educating gun owners about the risks of guns and how to mitigate them.

While we appreciate the need to provide flexibility to businesses at this time, this is a naked effort to keep gun stores open at any cost, even if that cost is public safety. Especially after the Trump Department of Homeland Security discouraged state and local governments from temporarily closing stores down on the advice of public health officials, the ATF’s tortured guidelines bend backwards to increase public health and safety risks, turning a transaction centered around safety into one of expediency. During this time of national fear and uncertainty, the ATF should be recommending that gun stores educate buyers on the real risks of family fire, and increase safety measures, not lesson them.”

About the Guidance:

On April 10, 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released guidance for FFLs “in light of” the national emergency due to coronavirus.

Specifically, the ATF has advised:

An FFL may carry out the requested activities through a drive-up or walk-up window or doorway where the customer is on the licensee’s property on the exterior of the brick-and- mortar structure at the address listed on the license.

An FFL may also carry out the requested activities from a temporary table or booth located in a parking lot or other exterior location on the licensee’s property at the address listed on the license, but any such activities must occur in a location where the licensee has the authority to permit ATF’s entry for inspection purposes.

Brady opposes this new interpretation of existing law.