The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) took another step late last week to reduce some of the onerous burdens imposed on law-abiding gun owners seeking to purchase items regulated by the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).
For nearly a decade, the agency required individual applicants to submit fingerprint cards and 2” x 2” passport-style photographs.
The dreaded $200 fee imposed by the ATF on citizens is history, and the latest proposal would streamline the application process for obtaining short-barreled rifles and shotguns, suppressors, and other Second Amendment-related items.
There must be no arbitrary restrictions on exercising 2A rights
The ATF acknowledged in its proposal that the agency’s policy, in place for over nine years, does not benefit public safety.
“Nine years after the 2016 final rule, ATF recognizes that, even if it has the statutory authority to require fingerprints and photographs from both NFA and GCA RPs and individual applicants, the current regulations on those topics largely no longer serve a useful purpose.”
Securing public safety and keeping firearms out of the wrong hands is a goal every responsible gun owner shares. But busywork that must be cleared before exercising a fundamental right deserves another look, and that’s what it’s getting.
ATF confesses that current requirements are mostly useless
The ATF admitted that simply making a copy of the applicant’s photo ID is more helpful than chasing down a 2” x 2” selfie. The agency called the fingerprint card and photograph mandates “needlessly burdensome on applicants.”
Momentum is clearly on the side of removing obstacles to lawful gun and gun-related products.
After all, liberties such as free speech and freedom of religion are vigorously defended by most people. Speaking your mind or worshiping as you choose should never be burdened by cumbersome hoops, and gun rights are no different.
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