GOA files lawsuit against ATF’s “zero tolerance” policy which has forced over 1,000 gun dealers to shut down

07/18/2023 / By Kevin Hughes

Gun rights organization the Gun Owners of America (GOA) has filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), accusing the agency of unlawfully shutting down gun dealers due to its “zero tolerance” policy and rigid inspection guidelines.

The lawsuit, known as Morehouse Enterprises v. ATF (II) and filed in the District Court of North Dakota, pushes back against the agency’s targeting of Morehouse for revoking the company’s federal firearms license (FFL) and hopes to get the court to stop the implementation of the Department of Justice’s “zero tolerance” policy. GOA claims this policy “has been wielded as a political weapon … to revoke the FFLs of numerous gun dealers across the nation.”

The ATF recently targeted Morehouse – doing business with the public as Bridge City Ordnance in Valley City, North Dakota – claiming to have found five violations out of around 5,000 gun acquisitions or sales. The agency is now trying to suspend Morehouse’s gun store license. GOA, in collaboration with its research arm the Gun Owners Foundation (GOF), is supporting Morehouse’s legal battle. (Related: Merritt Medical Hour: Federal gov’t TARGETING gun dealers to take away 2A rights of Americans – Brighteon.TV.)

ATF using inconsequential paperwork errors to revoke federal firearms licenses

The ATF’s recent actions against gun dealers come as the agency follows new guidelines from the administration of President Joe Biden, known as the “zero tolerance” policy that makes it easier to revoke the federal licenses of gun stores. This policy has been in place since at least June 2021.

“The Justice Department is announcing a new policy to underscore zero tolerance for willful violations of the law by federally licensed firearms dealers,” reads the White House’s fact sheet regarding the policy changes. “ATF will seek to revoke the licenses of dealers the first time that they violate federal law.”

The guidance states the agency “has zero tolerance for willful violations that greatly affect public safety and ATF’s ability to trace firearms recovered in violent crimes” and that “revocation” of the FFL’s license “is the assumed action” with violations.

The new policy amends the ATF’s processes, erasing the ability of ATF agents to exercise discretion when they find that gun dealers have unusual instances of minor mistakes, such as bookkeeping or paperwork errors, which the GOA believes should not be adequate grounds for canceling a gun dealer’s license to begin with.

In 2022, following the new policies, the ATF inspected nearly 7,000 gun dealers and discovered errors in nearly half of them. This led to the cancellation of 90 FFLs, and more than 1,000 other gun dealers “voluntarily” shut down their stores.

“This zero-tolerance policy toward lawful commerce, guaranteed by the Second Amendment is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing federal agencies against their political enemies,” said GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt in a statement. “It also is just one more compelling piece of evidence to support gun owners’ demands that Congress defund the ATF.”

“It’s ridiculous that good people trying to make an honest living are facing this assault on their livelihoods simply over inconsequential paperwork errors,” said GOF Executive Director Sam Paredes in a separate statement. “Small businesses face devastating consequences if this administration’s hostility toward firearms is permitted to go unchecked.”

Follow SecondAmendment.news for more news about the Biden administration’s gun control policy.

Watch the video below as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, interviews GOA Federal Affairs Liaison Ben Sanderson about the ATF’s overreach.

This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com.