Rogue Officials Won’t Drop Biden’s Gun Store Crackdown
You’d expect that when President Trump repealed a controversial gun policy, his own Justice Department would follow his lead. But that’s not what’s happening right now.
DOJ lawyers are still fighting Gun Owners of America in court, even though the Trump administration officially ended Biden’s harsh “zero-tolerance” policy against gun stores back in April.
Here’s what makes this so frustrating for gun owners: The administration repealed the policy. Attorney General Pam Bondi called it an “undue burden” on Second Amendment rights. Acting ATF Director Kash Patel said ending it was a “pivotal step toward restoring fairness.”
But when Gun Owners of America recently asked DOJ lawyers to drop their court case, they got a shocking response. A current DOJ lawyer informed GOA the government has “no plans to abandon its previous arguments” in recent communications about the case. That means your tax dollars are still paying lawyers to defend a policy their own boss threw out.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Biden’s zero-tolerance policy was devastating for gun stores. In 2021, the ATF revoked only five Federal Firearms Licenses (FFLs). This figure climbed to 88 in 2022, 157 in 2023, and 147 in 2024. That’s nearly a 3,000% increase from 2021 to its peak.
But the real damage goes deeper. Over the same period, voluntary surrenders of FFLs after an inspection tripled from 24 in 2021 to 74 in 2024. And that doesn’t include the stunning number from the latest data: 1,488 FFLs either surrendered their licenses or shut down their businesses in 2024 alone.
Think about what this means in your town. Gun stores that served families for decades got shut down for things like writing “USA” instead of the actual county name on paperwork, or transposing a serial number. This reckless policy throttled small businesses and drove many to shut down by threatening crippling administrative costs to fight against penalties for minor errors and infractions that were previously reconciled in good faith between ATF officials and law-abiding firearm retailers.
What Conservatives Are Really Fighting
This isn’t just about gun stores. It’s about whether elections actually matter. When voters chose Trump, they expected his agenda to win. Not to get sabotaged by career bureaucrats who disagree with the results.
Gun Owners of America is fighting this case because they know policies can change overnight. Without a permanent fix in court, the next President could easily re-instate this gun control. A simple policy memo isn’t enough. They want a federal judge to rule that zero tolerance was illegal from the start.
But the Biden DOJ had argued something truly radical in this case. The Biden DOJ previously argued that the Second Amendment does not protect private businesses’ right to sell firearms.
Their lawyers claimed:
“The Second Amendment does not protect a right to purchase firearms from a preferred local retailer indefinitely with minimal inconvenience.”
That’s government speak for “you don’t really have a right to buy guns if we make it too hard for stores to stay open.”
The Deep State in Action
For conservatives who believe in limited government, this is exactly what they warned about. Unelected bureaucrats think they know better than the people we actually vote for.
Gun Owners of America argues in their court filing:
“Members of the Trump Administration – including Defendants – have publicly repudiated ‘zero tolerance’ as the blatant statutory rewrite and attack on the Second Amendment that it is.”
Erich Pratt from Gun Owners of America said this is:
“just the latest in a string of legal battles that President Trump’s Department of Justice has continued to wage with Gun Owners of America.”
He said they’re grateful for Trump’s pro-gun actions, which makes it:
“all the more frustrating that DOJ is fighting against lasting victories.”
What Critics Say
Gun control groups defend the zero-tolerance approach. They argue it targeted dangerous dealers who let guns fall into criminal hands. “This action is particularly devastating because we know the zero-tolerance policy worked,” Kris Brown, president of the gun reform group Brady, said in a statement.
Some analysis suggests most revocations involved serious violations, not just paperwork errors. But gun rights groups point out that even small mistakes could trigger license revocation under the old policy. The fear of expensive legal battles forced many shops to close rather than fight.
What Happens Next
Gun Owners of America isn’t backing down. They’re taking this fight all the way to the Supreme Court if needed. They want permanent protection, not just a policy change that could get reversed.
President Trump has been firing other rogue bureaucrats who won’t follow his agenda. Now gun rights groups are asking him to clean house at DOJ too. They want him to fire or reassign lawyers who keep fighting cases that contradict administration policy.
This could be a real test of Trump’s promise to drain the swamp. Can he actually control his own Justice Department? Or will career lawyers keep doing whatever they want?
What Gun Owners Can Do
Gun Owners of America is asking supporters to contact the White House about this specific problem. They want pressure on Trump to rein in DOJ lawyers who are rebelling against his gun rights agenda.
Conservatives should also watch for similar fights in other areas. If bureaucrats can ignore orders on guns, they might do the same on immigration, regulations, or other issues.
The broader principle here matters beyond guns. In America, elections are supposed to have consequences. When people vote for change, they should actually get it. Not promises that get sabotaged by unelected officials who think they know better.
This battle over one policy shows a bigger problem. It’s about whether the people we elect actually get to run the government, or whether the permanent bureaucracy calls the shots no matter who wins.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
