Gabby Giffords Urges ATF to Finalize Rule to Expand Background Checks

Washington DC — Today, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, founder of the gun violence prevention organization GIFFORDS, submitted a comment in support of the proposed rule from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) clarifying the definition of who is considered “engaged in the business” of selling firearms and therefore subject to the legal requirements of a licensed gun dealer.

GIFFORDS has worked with both the Obama and Biden administrations on this rule since 2014. 

Read the full comment here. 

“When I founded the organization now known as GIFFORDS, passing universal background checks through Congress was one of my top priorities. Within the last 10 years, we have made progress, notably passing H.R. 8, the Bipartisan Background Checks Act, through the House of Representatives in 2019 and 2021. While we have not yet fulfilled the goal of making universal background checks law, I remain committed to what I view as one of the most important and foundational policies that can meaningfully address the gun violence epidemic our country currently faces,” wrote Congresswoman Giffords. 

“Since 2014, GIFFORDS has repeatedly urged both the Obama and Biden administrations to issue a rule clarifying the definition of who is considered ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms and subject to the legal requirements of a licensed gun dealer. Better defining this category of individuals will expand the number of background checks conducted on gun sales….

“I know that there is no one single solution to prevent every act of gun violence, but, like many other survivors who want to ensure no other American family experiences the horror of gun violence, I know that more that can be done…. I am enormously grateful for the leadership of the Biden administration and ATF for proposing such a robust rule to address this gap in our laws, and I strongly urge you to finalize the rule as written soon.”

During a January 2015 meeting with former President Barack Obama, GIFFORDS called on the Obama administration to clarify the definition of “engaged in the business” and require more gun sellers to become licensed and conduct background checks on gun buyers. Later that year, Gabby Giffords again met with President Obama and urged him to pursue a number of executive actions on gun safety, including on background checks. 

In early 2016, ATF issued guidance specifying that a person can be engaged in the business of dealing in firearms regardless of the location in which firearm transactions are conducted and that those engaged in the business of dealing in firearms who utilize the Internet or other technologies must obtain a federal firearms license. While this was an important step forward, GIFFORDS has continued to recommend that federal rulemaking building on this guidance could further shrink the background checks loophole and reduce the volume of guns sold without a background check.

During the 2020 presidential transition, GIFFORDS and the Center for American Progress collaborated on a memo outlining dozens of gun safety priorities for the incoming Biden-Harris administration, including a recommendation for a rulemaking to clarify that any person who sells five guns or more in any 12-month period is “in the business” of selling firearms, regardless of whether the profits from such sales constitute a significant portion of the seller’s “livelihood.” 

Following passage of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, GIFFORDS again urged ATF to follow up on Congress’ intent to include those who make repetitive sales in the federal licensing regime, and issue a regulation stating that any person who sells five guns or more in any 12-month period is “in the business” of selling firearms.

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