With only weeks left until Donald Trump assumes the presidency, the outgoing Biden regime wants to leave gun owners with a nasty parting gift. And it’s coming in the form of two new gun control “rules” that Joe Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ) rolled out early in December that expand upon the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA).
The signing of the BSCA on Jun. 25, 2022 represented the largest expansion of gun control since the passage of the Brady Act of 1993. Under the (BSCA), which establishment Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) helped Democrats pass, the definition of what constitutes a “gun seller” was changed. The BSCA amended the text of Section 921(a) of Title 18, United States Code, where it went from an individual “engaged in the business” of selling guns “with the principal objective of livelihood and profit” to the murkier description “to predominantly earn a profit.”
In addition, the BSCA apportioned funds via the Department of Justice’s State Crisis Intervention Program (SCIP) to states with the aim of encouraging them to start enacting “red flag” gun confiscation orders. After years of gridlock on gun control issues, Gun Control Inc. was finally able to get a win by passing the BSCA. President Biden described the passage of the BSCA as “the most significant gun [control] legislation to pass Congress in 30 years.”
With respect to the new executive actions that build upon the BSCA, the Department of Justice published a press release announcing the rollout of these two rules under the category of “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” (NPRM). The first NPRM, the “Firearm Handlers Rule”, grants “federal firearm licensees (FFLs), such as gun stores” the power to “use the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) to voluntarily conduct employment background checks for certain employees.” Additionally, the second NPRM, the “Under-21 Rule”, “would codify enhanced NICS background check procedures for prospective firearm purchasers under 21 years of age, among other changes.”
The DOJ highlighted, “Under the BSCA, NICS is required to conduct enhanced background checks for such under-21 purchasers, by contacting certain state and local entities to determine if a juvenile record, such as a criminal conviction or mental health record, may disqualify the purchaser from possessing a firearm.”
The BSCA was passed after the Uvalde school massacre of May 24, 2022. This bill received the support of 15 Republicans in the U.S. Senate. A number of these senators received strong ratings from the NRA. For example, Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and John Cornyn (R-TX) received A+ ratings, while Mitt Romney (R-UT), Thom Tillis (R-NC), & Lindsey Graham (R-SC) received A ratings.
The Biden regime knows that it can’t pass gun control via legislative means owing to a divided Congress. As a result, it’s turning to naked forms of executive tyranny to enact anti-gun measures.
The good news is the victory of Donald Trump on Nov. 5, 2024 coupled with Republicans taking back the U.S. Senate and keeping control of the House gives gun owners a chance to not only roll back these recent executive orders but also repeal unconstitutional gun control laws on the books.
However, this won’t happen by default. Republicans have a long track record of dragging their feet, and even outright betraying gun owners in certain instances. The x-factor here is going to be citizen pressure to keep Republicans in line. The more these elected officials feel the heat from the grassroots, the more likely gun owners will be able to make concrete gains at the federal level.
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