Latest news with #FFLs
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clarksville gun shop fights to get Federal Firearms License back
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A veteran-owned gun shop has been struggling to stay afloat after losing its Federal Firearms License in 2023. A policy announced by President Joe Biden in June 2021 established 'zero tolerance for rogue gun dealers that willfully violate the law.' Under this policy, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was to revoke the licenses of dealers the first time that they violated federal law by willfully: transferring a firearm to a prohibited person failing to run a required background check falsifying records, such as a firearms transaction form failing to respond to an ATF tracing request refusing to allow the ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law In April, the Trump administration repealed the policy implemented by Biden. The Tactical Edge, located on Fort Campbell Boulevard in Clarksville, has been in business for 13 years. At the end of 2022, shop owners William Boswell and Robert Snyder told News 2 that the ATF found 10 minor clerical errors among the nearly 2,500 forms the shop had filed. MNPD: Wanted man dead after exchanging gunfire with officers on Division Street Bridge Snyder said they had made similar mistakes in the past and were always able to fix things without getting their FFL revoked. They decided to hire Nashville-based attorney John Harris to help them try to get a stay but to no avail. '[We] just financially couldn't afford to fight it anymore,' Snyder said. 'The government's got unlimited money. They can have an attorney in there every single day. We just can't do that. It cost us almost $100,000 in legal fees.' On top of that, Boswell and Snyder had to shut down their manufacturing facility, which is where they made the majority of their revenue. The duo said their business has been hanging on by a thread ever since. '[We've just] been trying to do our best with [selling] accessories, gear — stuff like that,' Boswell said. 'We have Fort Campbell right here, so we have a lot of gear and stuff that cater to the soldiers on post. Without the FFL, it has significantly cut down our ability to have an income here.' In late April, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tennessee) sent a letter to Attorney General Pamela Bondi requesting a review of all revoked FFLs for gun dealers and gun store owners during the Biden administration. 'While I am grateful the Trump administration has ended this egregious and predatory enforcement, there are still hundreds of firearm dealers who had their FFLs unjustly revoked,' Green's letter said. 'I implore you to consider issuing an expedient review of all federal firearms licenses revoked under the Biden administration. In many cases, the Biden ATF revoked the FFLs of gun shops with little to no due process. It is time to make this right.' As for Boswell and Snyder, they said they're hoping federal officials follow through with Green's request and that they get their FFL back. Even then, they admit it would be difficult to get back to where they once were. READ MORE | Latest headlines from Clarksville and Montgomery County 'We were growing as a company for a long time, and then basically you have to stop in your track,' Snyder said. 'It would take us probably 10 years to get back to where we were at.' News 2 reached out to the ATF for comment. The agency responded with the following statement. 'ATF is finalizing a new national policy to promote consistent, effective, and equitable responses to violations of the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA), as amended, 18 U.S.C. Chapter 44. When assessing which enforcement actions to take, ATF will be guided by this new policy to consider the nature of the violations, their impact on public safety, ATF's ability to reduce violent crime and respect for the rule of law. Any pending administrative actions against FFLs related to previous policies will be reevaluated using the new policy before a decision is reached on what actions, if any, to take in the case.' Public Affairs Division, Office of Public & Governmental Affairs, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Epoch Times
21-04-2025
- Politics
- Epoch Times
Oregon Lawmakers, Courts Weigh Strict New Gun Laws
The battle over firearm safety regulations versus gun rights is raging in Oregon. The fate of Ballot Measure 114, which has been tied up in litigation since voters approved it in 2022, now resides with the Oregon Supreme Court. The measure is widely deemed to contain the strictest gun laws in the nation. Democrat lawmakers, who hold the majority in both legislative chambers, are not waiting for a ruling. Instead, they are advancing three firearms safety bills. The bill would increase the length of time a 'permit agent' has to issue or deny permits, and increase fees to apply for or renew a permit from $65 to $150. Related Stories 2/10/2023 9/19/2023 'We're very eager to have it [Measure 114] put in place,' said Liz McKenna of 'It's time to see what it can do.' Testifying in opposition, Republican state Rep. Alek Skarlatos criticized the proposed $150 permit fee and $110 renewal fee as discriminatory toward low-income individuals, who he claimed are more likely to use firearms for self-defense. 'A $300 rifle is now $450, plus the $48 background check fee,' he said. The bill also extends the time for the state to issue a permit to a qualified applicant from 30 to 60 days from receipt of the application. Though he has supported 'most gun violence measures in the past decade,' Democrat Rep. Paul Evans bucked his party by calling HB 3075 'an attack on disadvantaged Oregonians' in his April newsletter. State Licensing for Dealers Bill 3076 would direct the Oregon Department of Justice to create a state licensing program for gun dealers, with license application and renewal fees as much as $1,500 annually and potential increases of 20 percent each year. Oregon firearm dealers are currently licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) and require a Federal Firearms License (FFL), with no additional licensing requirements. Under HB 3076, a valid FFL from the ATF would no longer be sufficient to operate a gun store in the state. Shops of all sizes and home-based FFLs would be required to install a digital video surveillance system that records at any time a customer is on the premises. Gun transfers would have to be captured on video with a three-year storage requirement. All FFL employees who handle firearms or ammunition would be required to first pass a state-certified training course that hasn't been developed yet and follow that training with annual refreshers. 'HB 3076, as amended, creates absurd and draconian new restrictions on gun dealers in an effort to shut down as many firearms businesses as possible,' the Oregon Firearms Federation told The Epoch Times. 'However, the new rules also apply to home-based FFLs and will apply at gun shows, where the requirements will be impossible to comply with.' Oregon House Republicans criticized both bills, saying they restrict the rights of law-abiding citizens to bear arms while doing nothing to reduce crime and uphold public safety. 'These bills are an attack on the constitutional right to bear arms,' House Minority Leader Rep. Christine Drazan said in an April 8 statement to the media. 'The only thing these bills do is punish law-abiding gun owners and small businesses that are in full compliance with federal law.' Evans again broke with his party in saying that he is 'adamantly opposed' to all of Oregon's pending gun legislation. 'The fervor advancing these measures has caused me to earnestly reconsider my party affiliation,' he wrote in his newsletter. Both House bills contain an 'emergency declaration.' This clause ensures that the bills would go into effect as soon as the governor signs them, rather than waiting until January of the following year. Meanwhile, in the Senate ... Introduced by Democrat Sen. Floyd Prozanski, It would also ban rapid-fire devices like bump stocks, binary triggers, and rapid-fire activators, and would allow local governments to ban firearms in public buildings, Prozanski explained in an April 9 'The first part of the law is designed to help prevent suicides or domestic violence,' by requiring a wait time for people with 'high emotions,' Prozanski said. 'It would give them time to rethink their position before carrying out suicide or domestic violence.' Evans described the requirement for a three-day waiting period after passing a background check a 'theft of liberty.' 'Who would support a three-day waiting period for the purchase of an automobile, the delivery of alcohol or a gummy, or for an appointment providing reproductive care?' Testifying in support of the bill on March 27, Jess Marks, executive director for the gun safety advocacy group 'While there has been this huge shift in the technology and the types of firearms available, there have been almost no changes in how this new technology is regulated,' Marks testified. Tracking Measure 114 Voters approved Ballot Measure 114, requiring a permit to purchase a gun, with a 50.75 percent margin. The measure remains on hold pending Under the measure, prospective buyers must pass a criminal background check and complete a gun safety course to obtain a permit to purchase a firearm. They must also prove they are not a danger to themselves or others. If it stands, the measure overrides the 'Charleston Loophole,' a law that currently allows firearm transfers to proceed if a background check takes more than three days. Additionally, it restricts magazines that are 'capable of holding or being modified to hold' more than 10 rounds. A Harney County, Oregon, circuit court judge ruled in November 2023 that Measure 114 violated the state constitution. In a major reversal of that ruling, a three-judge panel of the Oregon Court of Appeals found in March this year that the measure does not violate the state constitution's right to bear arms. The court On April 14, the plaintiffs, two Harney County gun owners, asked the Oregon Supreme Court to weigh in. In a 24-page The plaintiffs contend that its requirement to obtain a permit to buy a gun would turn that constitutional right 'into a privilege for the government to grant or refuse.' The state supreme court can take up to 90 days to act, Aiello explained in a social media 'At some point, the supreme court will decide to hear our case, not hear our case, or the legislature may pass HB 3075,' one of three bills introduced in the state legislature in January, he said. Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield vowed that the state would 'Oregonians voted for this, and it's time we move ahead with common-sense safety measures,' Rayfield said. The state ranks 12th in the nation for the strength of its gun laws, State law requires that guns be securely stored whenever they are not in their owner's immediate control, prohibits guns at the state capitol, and gives colleges and universities the authority to prohibit guns on their grounds. In 2023, the state enacted a prohibition on untraceable 'ghost guns' and 3D-printed guns.
Yahoo
27-03-2025
- Yahoo
Humble man sentenced in relation to scheme to illegally ship firearms to Iraq
The Brief 53-year-old Yashab Idnan Sandhu was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison in relation to a scheme to illegally ship firearms to Iraq. Law enforcement ultimately traced 38 pistols with obliterated serial numbers to R's Golf & Guns, an FFL for whom Sandhu was a "responsible person." Sandhu was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. HOUSTON - A 53-year-old Humble resident has been sentenced to federal prison for providing false information on federally mandated firearms records, according to U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. According to a release, Yashab Idnan Sandhu, pleaded guilty back in July 2023. U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen ordered Sandhu to serve 42 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. What they're saying "The Southern District of Texas is pleased to have worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to have intercepted this shipment of guns before they reached Iraq, and used for whatever unknown purpose," said Ganjei. "Being a responsible gun dealer is not just a matter of business; it's a fundamental duty to safeguard public safety and uphold the trust placed in our agency by the American people," said ATF Special Agent in Charge Michael Weddel. "ATF puts great trust in Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), to include 'responsible persons,' as they carry significant responsibility. When that trust is violated, it undermines the confidence the public has in the system. ATF Houston is committed to maintaining public safety, which includes holding these FFLs and their associated employees responsible when the laws and regulations are not followed." The backstory Officials said the investigation began March 13, 2020, when authorities discovered a cache of handguns concealed in a shipping crate addressed to Iraq at a Port of Houston warehouse. They recovered approximately 473 handguns, 38 of which were pistols with obliterated serial numbers. Law enforcement ultimately traced 38 pistols with obliterated serial numbers to R's Golf & Guns, an FFL for whom Sandhu was a "responsible person." A responsible person is someone who has the authority and power to direct firearm compliance decisions and operations for an FFL, the release stated. The investigation revealed Sandhu had sold these firearms to a suspected firearms smuggler. As part of his plea, Sandhu admitted he went back to previously completed forms and added the firearms, falsely reporting they had been sold to other innocent persons. What's next Sandhu was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The Source Information provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office - Southern District of Texas.
