Universal background checks: backdoor, illegal gun registration

President Biden, actually his handlers, and not a few Democrat/socialist/communist (D/s/c) politicians, continually advocate for gun control. Their currently favored narrative demands bans on “assault weapons,” “high-capacity magazines” and “universal background checks.” There is no such thing in firearm nomenclature as an “assault weapon.” What D/s/cs mean is “any gun we don’t like,” which amounts to the AR-15 family or anything like it. “High-capacity magazines” are those of greater than 10-round capacity, though they really want fewer rounds–like none. “Universal background checks” are even more expansive:

Graphic: X Screenshot

President Joe Biden’s Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms is working with the Department of Justice to regulate private gun sales into oblivion by mandating background checks for personal firearm exchanges, according to whistleblower group Empower Oversight. 

Federal law currently requires background checks for any gun buyers who purchase their new weapons through a licensed federal firearms dealer (FFL). Two sources in communication with Empower Oversight confirmed the ATF is prepared to move forward with a rule that would classify a closed-door gun sale between friends or family members the same as firearm purchases made from FFLs.

Federal law prevents the government from keeping records on the sale of most gun purchases. Purchasers of guns at from federal firearm licensed dealers must fill out the common ATF Form 4473, which dealers must keep for at least 20 years. If they go out of business, they must give all of those records to the BATF. There is no central, federal firearm registry, though it’s an open secret the government does its best to compile one in every way possible in violation of federal law.

Graphic: BATF Form 4473. Public Domain.

The rule, proposed by the DOJ and ATF at the behest of Biden’s gun control wish list issued in March 2023, seeks to change the definition of “who is engaged in the business of dealing in firearms” to increase the number of Americans required to become FFLs, a lengthy and far from “easy” process, that must conduct background checks to sell their guns. 

The 1986 Firearms Owners’ Protection Act determined that regulation of those “engaged in the business” of selling guns commercially “shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his personal collection of firearms.”

What the AFT and DOJ are trying to do is force every American who in any way “buys” a gun, to go to a licensed dealer, who will be forced to run a federal background check and force the “buyer” to fill out a 4473. This would exceed the AFT’s power. Not only would such a “rule” require congressional legislation, it would violate at least four current federal laws. That, however, would not be out of character of the Mumified Meat Puppet Administration’s (MMPA) disregard for the law:

The ATF and DOJ have made several unconstitutional moves against law-abiding gun owners in the last three years. At Biden’s direction, the ATF attempted to turn pistol brace owners into felons, shutter gun stores over paperwork flukes, “ban” ghost guns, shut down ammunition sales, and alter the legal definition of a firearm to instate background checks for gun parts.

Arguably, such a rule would also be unconstitutional, backdoor gun registration. The MMPA has been doing its best, just as the Clinton and Obama Administrations did, to shut down as many federal firearm licensee businesses as possible. When that happens, those FFL dealers must turn over all their 4473s to the government. If every private transaction required a 4473, that would greatly increase government’s illegal firearm registry.

The rule would also impose additional fees on gun ownership as dealers would surely charge a fee for their time and paperwork. Under the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision, this is clearly unconstitutional. The rule would also surely define anyone giving a family member or relative a gun as a “sale” requiring a 4473. A father giving his son or daughter a rifle for their birthday would have to take them to a gun store to fill out a 4473. 

During my law enforcement career, I had several occasions to hand, on silver platters, the BATF cases of people illegally acquiring guns. These were felons, people who needed to be prosecuted. The BATF didn’t bother to arrest one of them. But we can be certain, based on the MMPA’s persecution of Normal Americans for exercising their constitutional rights, the BATF will be eager to arrest any father or son who doesn’t adhere to their unconstitutional rules.

That’s the MMPA: lawless, always to the disadvantage of Americans.

Mike McDaniel is a USAF veteran, classically trained musician, Japanese and European fencer, life-long athlete, firearm instructor, retired police officer and high school and college English teacher. His home blog is Stately McDaniel Manor.