Congresswoman Claudia Tenney Joins Letter Opposing Overreaching ATF Gun Registry

Washington, DC—Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-22), Congressman Michael McCloud (TX-27), and 50 other Members of the House of Representatives sent a letter to the acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Martin Richardson, opposing a proposed ATF rule that could eventually lead to a backdoor gun registry, despite Congress prohibiting such a measure. 

It is essential for all law-abiding Americans to be able to freely practice their Second Amendment rights. Congress, through passage of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act in 1986, stated that the federal government cannot create a federal gun registry and that the ATF cannot create any centralized databases. Excessive and open-ended government data collection violates the privacy of gun owners, while providing no public safety benefit. 

The proposed ATF rule would require all federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to indefinitely store all their firearms transaction records, up from the previous standard of 20 years. Then when an FFL goes out of business or no longer has its licensed status, all its records will be uploaded to the ATF computer system. This means that under this proposed rule the federal government would centrally possess 100% of all legal firearms transaction data. There is no reason the government needs all this sensitive and private information. \

“The Second Amendment is not a second-class constitutional right,” said Congresswoman Tenney. “This move by the ATF is a blatant power grab by anti-gun advocates in the Biden Administration to undermine the privacy of legal, law-abiding gun owners. It will undermine the authority of Congress and discourage Americans who follow the rules in good faith from practicing their constitutional rights. This is simply unacceptable.”

Congresswoman Tenney is a strong advocate for the Second Amendment rights of all Americans and New Yorkers. She was the first member of the New York State Assembly to come out against the unconstitutional SAFE Act. Earlier this year, she also led Members of the House of Representatives in an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association (NYSRPA) v. Bruen. This case challenges a New York law limiting the rights of New Yorkers who otherwise qualify to conceal carry. 

A signed copy of the representatives’ letter can be found here and complete text of the letter is below. 

Dear Acting Director Richardson, 

Congress enacted a prohibition on the creation of a federal gun registry that could allow the government to target American citizens who own guns. We are concerned that this Administration is leveraging its power in a way to establish a federal gun registry. Moreover, we are opposed to a recent proposed regulation that would require federal firearms licensees (FFLs) to facilitate the creation of a federal gun registry. 

According to recently published documents, the ATF has collected 54.7 million records in FY 2021 alone. It is an outrage that the federal government would maintain such extensive records of law-abiding citizens’ law-abiding firearm transfers. 

Indeed, current regulations require FFLs to send firearm transaction records to the ATF when an FFL goes out of business. However, Congress has also made it clear in the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act that the federal government shall not create a federal gun registry and has prohibited ATF from creating any centralized databases with its funding. 

For decades, FFLs have only been required to maintain firearm transaction records for 20 years, after which they can be destroyed. Many gun owners value the privacy afforded by the destruction of these records of their law-abiding firearm transfers after this period. 

However, the Administration’s proposed rulemaking ATF 2021R-05 would require FFLs to preserve all firearm transaction records. This means that 100% of all lawful commercial firearm transfers would eventually end up in an ATF computer system, thereby creating a permanent database. 

This gives us serious cause for concern that the Biden Administration is intent on creating a federal gun registry by circumventing the legislative process. In fact, a GAO report from 2016 was titled, “ATF Did Not Always Comply with the Appropriations Act Restriction and Should Better Adhere to Its Policies.”

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