The administration has launched a war of attrition against the vendors who make Americans’ Second Amendment rights effective.
Clarksville, Tenn. — Under a recently introduced zero tolerance policy, the Biden-Harris Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is revoking the federal firearms licenses of small gun shops at an alarming pace.
“We’re just normal guys trying to put food on the table for our families, and they act like we’re slinging guns to the cartels,” said small-business owner William (Will) Boswell. Will and Bobby Snyder are proud veterans of the U.S. Army National Guard and co-owners of The Tactical Edge, a gun dealership and manufacturer in Clarksville. Unfortunately, because of the Biden-Harris ATF, Will and Bobby might soon be shutting down their business. “Every day is stress of how I’m going to pay my employees, get more money in, and keep the lights on,” Will explained.
It all started in summer 2021, when the Biden-Harris administration announced “zero tolerance” for rogue gun dealers who willfully violate the law” (emphasis added). Under its new criteria, however, the administration considers any gun shop owner who, say, makes a paperwork error to be a “rogue gun dealer” who has “willfully violated” the law.
Tactical Edge Arms is a victim of this policy. Its federal firearms license was revoked for minor infractions. Among around 2,500 forms filed by the business, the ATF found about ten minor clerical errors. During the hearing for the revocation stay, when asked, the ATF director of operations for Nashville admitted on the stand that before the Biden administration’s zero tolerance policy, Tactical Edge’s infractions would have warranted a warning letter at most — not a hearing, much less a revocation of its license.
Tactical Edge was forced to shut down its manufacturing facility, costing the business millions in lost revenue and tens of thousands in attorneys’ fees, and forcing Will and Bobby to lay off most of their employees — many of whom are also veterans.
Their case isn’t an exception. Allen’s Gun Shop, also in Clarksville, suffered the same fate. According to owner James Allen, a disabled Vietnam veteran, after almost 20 years of operating without an issue, the shop was cited by the ATF for minor clerical errors in 2021. The agency gave Allen 15 days to cease all firearm sales with no option for an appeal.
In conjunction with this new policy, the ATF ramped up enforcement. According to a 2022 letter sent by Congressmen Andy Biggs (R., Ariz.) and Jim Jordan (R., Ohio), two sources close to the ATF stated that field agents are being pressured by the Biden-Harris Department of Justice to increase license revocations, instituting an unofficial quota system. In total, the ATF has revoked 331 licenses since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office. That is, 331 business owners and even more employees are in the process of losing their livelihoods. In contrast, before this administration, the ATF tended to revoke about 40 licenses per year.