ATF’s Fake Rollback Keeps Biden’s Gun Control Alive, Fight Back!
Written by
Erich Pratt Published: 29 June 2026
Thanks to GOA’s lawsuit, a federal judge in Texas vacated Biden’s “Engaged in the Business” rule in its entirety.
That rule tried to twist the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to impose backdoor universal background checks by redefining who counts as a “dealer.”
Now, ATF has proposed a replacement rule that claims to “rescind” the Biden rule, but in reality keeps key parts of its legal framework in place and leaves gun owners exposed.
We’re calling on all GOA members to speak up and stop the ATF from attempting to keep the worst parts of this now-dead rule on the books!
The deadline for comments is coming up, so gun owners can’t afford to sit this one out, our rights depend on it!
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I oppose ATF’s proposed “Engaged in the Business” rule (RIN 1140-AB01).
Although ATF claims this proposal rescinds the Biden Administration’s unlawful rule, it openly admits that “some sections of the Biden rule will be retained.” Rather than fully restoring the limits Congress placed on federal authority, this proposal preserves many of the same legal theories that threatened ordinary, law-abiding gun owners under the previous rule.
I agree with Gun Owners of America that ATF should fully abandon the Biden Administration’s interpretation of the law instead of simply repackaging it in a different form.
Congress carefully distinguished between commercial firearms dealers and private citizens who occasionally buy, sell, or trade firearms from their personal collections. Yet this proposal continues to blur that line. ATF continues to believe that a person can be “engaged in the business” without ever earning a profit.
Even more troubling, ATF continues to treat ordinary, lawful conduct as evidence of criminal activity. Under this proposal, keeping a simple list of your firearms, reselling the same model within a short period of time, or even offering to sell a firearm can still be used as evidence that someone is “engaged in the business” without a license. The agency also continues to promote the dangerous theory that intent alone can be enough to prosecute law-abiding gun owners, despite federal court rulings rejecting that approach and despite the clear limits Congress wrote into the statute.
The proposal also fails to fully protect the broad statutory safe harbor Congress created for occasional private sales and transfers from a personal collection. Americans should not have to fear federal prosecution simply because they decide to sell or trade personally owned firearms.
These regulations are simply a recycled version of the Biden Administration’s effort to impose backdoor universal background checks through executive action rather than legislation. That represents a clear breach of trust with America’s law-abiding gun owners.
ATF should withdraw this proposal and issue a new rule that faithfully follows the plain language of federal law, respects the rights of law-abiding gun owners, and clearly rejects the flawed legal theories that federal courts have already rejected.
ATF’S BAIT-AND-SWITCH: RESCIND THE RULE, KEEP THEIR FAVORITE PARTS
Under this proposal, ATF says it will drop some of Biden’s presumptions and narrow definitions, but it openly states that “some sections of the Biden rule will be retained.”
ATF still treats everyday behavior by gun owners as suspicious: keeping a simple list of your firearms, reselling the same model within a short window, or even just offering to sell a firearm can be used as evidence that you are “engaged in the business” without a license.
The agency continues to push the idea that intent alone can be enough evidence to prosecute law-abiding gun owners as illegal firearms traffickers, despite the court’s ruling and the clear limits Congress placed in law.
ATF cannot keep the Biden‑era Engaged in the Business framework on the books.
The rule must be rescinded in its entirety.
A federal court has already rejected the Biden rule, and ATF’s own history shows that its aggressive theories reach far beyond what Congress intended.
Our vocal grassroots members can hold ATF accountable.
GOA members have been crucial to change and have worked to stop bad policy in the past.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Copy our model comment.
Step 2: Then, with our model comment copied, paste it into the federal register’s comment section and submit your comment to the ATF.
Let them know that gun owners want real change, not a return to the status-quo.
ATF CANNOT KEEP THIS RULE.
IT MUST BE ABOLISHED.
ATF’s notice of proposed rulemaking also shows that it is not seriously inviting gun owners into the process.
Instead of asking broad questions about how the statute should be interpreted, the agency mostly seeks comments on the details of its already‑chosen approach.
But the Administrative Procedure Act requires ATF to consider substantive public comments, and courts have blocked rules when agencies ignore evidence or exceed what Congress authorized.
Gun owners have a critical opportunity to speak up and stop the rule.
If ATF doesn’t listen, these comments build the record that will be used in future legal challenges.
Let ATF know that gun owners expect real change, not a recycled version of Biden’s universal background check rule.
