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The Biden administration has reversed a much-criticized policy that required inspectors to revoke the federal firearms sales licenses for gun shops over certain paperwork errors or anomalies as part of a “zero tolerance” approach.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) voluntarily reversed the rule following a lawsuit by Austin, Texas, gun store owner Michael Cargill, an outspoken proponent of gun rights who argued the policy impeded access to firearms and was a barrier to the right to own firearms.
“I’ve literally, single-handedly castrated the ATF,” Cargill told Fox News Digital.
Semi-automatic shotguns are displayed for sale on shelves at the McBride Guns Inc. store in Austin, Texas, on Aug. 25, 2023. (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)
“Many gun stores have been forced to close due to the illegal terms of the old enforcement order,” he said in a statement. “The new order effectively restores the old enforcement guidance, which means gun stores don’t have to live in fear of honest mistakes.”
Cargill previously won a case argued before the U.S. Supreme Court that overturned a federal ban on bump stocks.
“There are 100 different ways for customers to make mistakes on the paperwork when you walk into a gun store,” he said. “In this terminology, if we were to allow them to go in and inspect hospitals, and they say ‘They made a mistake in the hospital.’ Whether it’s the doctor, the radiology, they made a mistake. We’re going to shut the entire hospital down. That’s insane.”
“No one does that. No other industry is put under that type of pressure,” Cargill added.