Today, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced the repeal of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) zero-tolerance policy that has shut down gun stores across the country.
The zero-tolerance policy was a Biden-era policy that shut down federal firearms licensees (FFL) businesses across the country for minor clerical errors. President Joe Biden called these firearms dealers “rogue gun dealers” in a White House Rose Garden Ceremony demonizing the industry. He claimed that these gun dealers were breaking the law to arm criminals, but in practice, most of the targeted gun stores were honest businesses that made slight paperwork mistakes, such as transposing a firearm’s serial numbers on an ATF Form 4473. The number of FFLs revoked under the Biden-era policy increased by an estimated 500% over previous years.
BREAKING
Kash Patel has officially repealed ATF’s tyrannical “Zero Tolerance” Policy.
This policy was used to unlawfully shut down hundreds of gun stores and build an illegal, digital registry of out-of-business records.
— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) April 7, 2025
The zero-tolerance policy removed the Industry Operations Inspectors’ (IOI) ability to use discretion to determine if a violation was willful or just a simple paperwork mistake. Anti-gun groups celebrated the Biden-era policy, which they saw as a good first step to crushing the firearms industry. The pro-gun side saw the zero-tolerance policy as an attack on the right to acquire arms. As the courts have said, there is no right to bear arms without the right to purchase arms. Multiple lawsuits were filed challenging the Biden administration’s zero-tolerance policy. Those cases are still working their way through the court system.
The Biden administration’s excuse for the policy was that guns were being trafficked through “rogue gun dealers.” Although this claim gave the administration cover for the policy, it was divorced from reality. According to the National Firearms in Commerce and Trafficking Assessment (NFCTA) released by the Biden DOJ, gun dealers only accounted for 1.6% of illegal arms trafficking cases. That is a far cry from the epidemic that the Biden Administration claimed was happening due to crooked gun dealers.
When Donald Trump won the 2024 Presidential election, he promised to change the direction of the government on Second Amendment issues. Shortly after he took office, he issued an executive order (EO) demanding the DOJ review any policies that might violate an American’s Second Amendment right. This policy change is a result of that order. According to AmmoLand’s sources inside the ATF, it is just one of a few changes that are expected to be rolled out in the near future.
Cases of FFLs that were affected by the zero-tolerance policy will be reviewed by the ATF. If it is determined that the FFL revocation was done because of the zero-tolerance policy, the decision will be reversed. Hundreds of FFLs could have their businesses restored. It is impossible to tell how many of those will reopen after being shuttered by the Bureau. Many gun stores shut down and lost their place of business. Some, if not most, will not be able to reopen.
The new ATF policy is a welcome change for the gun industry. Right now, the biggest fear for gun shops isn’t the economy; it is being shut down by a rogue agency. Those days might be changing, and it couldn’t happen too soon.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
