Trump DOJ Ends Policy That Shuttered Dangerous Gun Dealers

Table of Contents

Introduction

On April 7, 2025, the Trump administration announced the end of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “zero tolerance” policy, a move specifically requested by the gun lobby.¹ The gun industry’s trade association, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), took credit for the rollback, claiming that it began “work[ing] with the Trump administration to secure this critical industry victory since the first day of the president’s second term.”² Despite Trump’s claims that “[w]e need an all-out effort to defeat violent crime in America,”³ his administration’s decision to end the policy endangers public safety by removing meaningful consequences to gun dealers that knowingly violate our firearm laws.

First announced in June 2021, the “zero tolerance” policy tasked the ATF with revoking the licenses of gun dealers who willfully violate federal law. Such “qualifying violations” included transferring a firearm to a prohibited person, failing to run a required background check, falsifying records, failing to respond to an ATF crime gun tracing request, or refusing to permit the ATF to conduct an inspection. The policy shuttered the doors of gun stores that repeatedly failed to document gun sales and facilitated straw purchases. Additionally, of the inspections for which ATF published the underlying reports, inspectors found repeat violations of law in roughly two-thirds of the gun dealers who had their licenses revoked. In this way, the “zero tolerance” policy provided accountability for gun stores that willfully broke the law.

Nevertheless, gun groups like the NSSF have railed against it, calling the policy “a blunt instrument to hobble the firearm industry” and attempting to downplay the violations as “minor infractions” and “minor clerical errors.”⁴ This despite the fact that the policy resulted in the ATF shutting down the worst of the worst gun dealers, a total representing a mere 0.14 percent of all FFLs.

While the ATF is tasked with inspecting gun manufacturers, importers, and dealers — or Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) — to ensure that they are properly maintaining records and legally conducting gun sales, the chronically under-resourced agency inspected just 5.1 and 6.6 percent of all FFLs in fiscal years 2022⁵ and 2023,⁶ respectively. In other words, gun dealers might go years without seeing an inspection. At that rate, a typical FFL might expect an inspection once every 15 to 20 years. One can only imagine what these qualifying violation and license revocation statistics would look like if the ATF had funding to reach its stated goal of inspecting each FFL every three years.⁷

However, ATF data indicates that the agency successfully inspected more FFLs over the course of the “zero tolerance” policy. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the ATF inspected an average of 423 FFLs per month.⁸ But by the end of 2024, the monthly average had increased to 768 inspections, an 82-percent increase.⁹

Average monthly ffl inspections

In fiscal year 2023, the ATF conducted 8,689 compliance inspections, nearly half of which found violations.¹⁰ This fact underscores the importance of a strong regulatory regime to ensure compliance with the law, and undercuts claims that the gun industry is largely above board with respect to compliance.

Despite the obvious benefits of increasing the FFL inspection rate — and uncovering more violations — the gun industry complained about the “unrelenting” policy’s “blistering pace” of inspections.¹¹

It should also be noted that the majority of violations found by the ATF in fiscal year 2023 did not trigger revocations. The agency issued 667 warning letters and held 166 warning conferences for example, among other resolutions.

The most striking finding from the ATF data: After the “zero tolerance” policy was implemented, the number of inspections where the ATF found qualifying violations — or those warranting revocation — dramatically increased. From July 2021 through 2024,¹² ATF inspections identified 1,087 FFLs with qualifying violations of law, resulting in 642 license revocations or voluntary surrenders of licenses.¹³ The monthly average number of inspections with qualifying violations rose fivefold between 2021 and 2023 and remained flat in 2024. This accomplishment is proof positive that when given clear directives and support, the ATF is capable of identifying FFLs who knowingly break the law but have thus far escaped scrutiny.

AVERage MONTHLY RESULTS OF INSPECTIONS WITH QUALIFYING VIOLATIONS

A chart showing the average monthly results of FFL inspections during the ATF's "zero tolerance" policy.

Between October 2010 and the start of the ”zero tolerance” policy more than a decade later, the ATF revoked an average of 4.5 FFLs per month.¹⁴ The “zero tolerance” policy uncovered more violations and enabled the ATF to hold those violators accountable: Under the policy, there was an average of 9.5 revocations per month, double the average in the preceding decade.

Despite the gun industry’s claims that the “zero tolerance” policy was an unfair assault on all gun dealers, the statistics indicate that only a small number of the worst-behaving FFLs closed as a result of the policy: An average of 183 FFLs lost or voluntarily surrendered their licenses per year while the policy was in effect. The ATF’s most recent figures indicate that there are 132,383 FFLs in the United States.¹⁵ Thus, on average, the policy resulted in the ATF shutting down a mere 0.14 percent of FFLs each year.

The ATF’s aggregate statistics also indicate that gun stores had strong due process rights to adjudicate revocation determinations. In fact, FFLs were able to maintain their licenses in 41 percent of the inspections in which qualifying violations were found, either because the ATF found that extraordinary circumstances applied or an administrative hearing determined that they should maintain it.

AVERage MONTHLY RESULTS OF “ZERO TOLERANCE” PROCEEDINGS

In other words, the data shows that many gun stores successfully adjudicated the revocation determinations, in many cases agreeing to some lesser penalty — a far cry from the gun industry’s claims that the ”zero tolerance” policy shuttered FFLs unfairly.

An examination of FFLs forced to shut down during the course of the “zero tolerance” policy sheds more light on the policy’s impact on public safety. While the gun industry made claims that the ATF was conducting a “campaign to shutter firearm retailers over minor clerical errors,”¹⁶ the following examples present clear and knowing instances of wrongdoing that could put communities at risk.

arrowhead pawn of georgia

In 1989, Arrowhead Pawn & Jewelry opened as a federally licensed gun dealer in Jonesboro, Georgia, and the store gained notoriety for being a source of crime guns throughout its more than three decades in business.

Between 2006 and 2010, authorities reportedly traced more than 1,700 crime guns back to Arrowhead Pawn, making it the fifth-largest source of crime guns in the country during that period.¹⁷ In 2009, the New York Police Department labeled it as the top out-of-state supplier of the city’s crime guns,¹⁸ and in 2014, a firearm used to kill two NYPD officers was traced back to the store.¹⁹ Over the years, Arrowhead Pawn received numerous citations and warnings for violating federal law. When the ATF notified the store of repeat violations in 2016, it replied that employees were too “busy” and “got distracted by other customers” to properly conduct sales. That same year, ATF agents identified “safety concerns” in an inspection report.

Despite receiving numerous citations and warnings for violating federal regulations, including failure to complete and maintain transaction records and report multiple sales of pistols as required by law, Arrowhead Pawn did not stop selling guns until the zero-tolerance policy went into effect.

bismanguns of north dakota

In February 2022, the ATF initiated compliance inspections of FFLs associated with Bismanguns LLC and proprietor Bret Ruff in North Dakota. The ATF eventually revoked both FFLs after uncovering seven violations for Bismanguns and eight for Ruff.

FFLs are required by law to record when firearms enter and leave their inventories in what are known as “acquisition and disposition” (A&D) books and complete firearm transaction records (ATF Form 4473) and background checks for every gun sold to a non-FFL. But the ATF cited Ruff for 24 instances of failing to accurately record the acquisition of firearms, 495 instances of failing to accurately record the disposition of the firearms, 97 instances of failing to complete ATF Form 4473, and transferring firearms without conducting background checks, among others.²⁰ Bismanguns LLC failed to accurately record the acquisition of firearms on 23 occasions, and failed to accurately record the disposition of the firearms on 83 occasions, among many other violations.²¹

According to the ATF, Ruff attempted to rectify his inventory records “mid-inspection” and created “more errors,” hindering the inspection. At a hearing to discuss the violations, he allegedly blamed family members and his computer system for not being in compliance. The ATF concluded that “this licensee lacks credibility while displaying a concerning disregard for the law.”²²

After receiving a notice of revocation from the ATF, Ruff sued the agency, but the case was dismissed by a federal judge just a few months later.²³

pf custom guns of north carolina

In September 2017, the ATF conducted an inspection of PF Custom Guns, a gunsmithing business owned by Marion Phillip Flack in Asheville, North Carolina, and found that Flack had been selling firearms without a license. The ATF expedited his application for a license and eventually found 11 violations of federal law at the business, including possession of firearms with obliterated serial numbers, record-keeping violations, and failing to report when customers attempt to purchase two or more handguns within five consecutive business days.²⁴ The ATF monitors such “multiple sales” as a way to disrupt gun trafficking rings.

Despite uncovering nearly a dozen violations, the ATF did not revoke Flack’s license. Instead ATF inspectors held a warning conference with Flack, where they reviewed gun laws and procedures, after which Flack laid out the remedial steps he would take and promised to conduct inventories annually. Flack and some of his employees also attended an ATF educational seminar in May 2018.²⁵

In May 2021, ATF inspectors returned to Flack’s business and found nine violations, including failing to initiate a background check, failing to report multiple sales of handguns, and failing to maintain inventory records. Five of the nine violations were repeats of those found in the 2017 inspection. Flack admitted that he had not conducted an annual inventory as promised, and that he could not account for multiple firearms that were supposed to be in his possession. According to the ATF, Flack explained the violations by saying that “he was very busy, did not take the time to double-check things, and was…unaware of some of his obligations.”²⁶

In revoking his license, the ATF wrote, “It was apparent that the Licensee, who was a veteran firearms dealer, knew and understood his responsibilities, and was repeatedly advised of the responsibilities, and periodically complied with the [Gun Control Act], yet was plainly indifferent to the firearms laws and regulations.”²⁷

zulu foxtrot guns of south dakota

Zulu Foxtrot Guns & Weaponry was a gun store in Rapid City, South Dakota, owned by Adam Max.²⁸ During a 2021 compliance inspection of Zulu Foxtrot, the ATF found that the FFL operated from an unlicensed location and failed to maintain sales records. Further, the FFL failed to document when firearms were manufactured, properly mark them so they could be traced by the ATF if recovered from a crime scene, and record who took possession of them. The FFL allegedly supplied false information on required forms as well. The ATF revoked the FFL’s license, and that determination was upheld on appeal.²⁹

The director of Industry Operations that heard the case wrote that “the record is rife with evidence of wilful violations and admissions to those violations.” Further, the officer found that “[t]he Licensee has blamed employees and being very busy for far too many errors; neither of these excuses negate the plain indifference that Licensee demonstrated on too many occasions during the first 2 years of operation.”³⁰

Separately, Adam Max was convicted of two counts of aggravated assault and one count of discharge of a firearm at a motor vehicle for a 2020 incident in which he shot at two men who attempted to steal the donation jar at his gun store.³¹

More examples of dangerous gun dealers who had their licenses revoked under the “zero tolerance” policy can be found here.

The gun lobby not only opposes policies to identify and punish gun dealers who break the law, but in some cases, they actively defend these rogue sellers. For instance, a gun dealer in Oklahoma lost its license for selling ammunition to a buyer who identified himself as a felon.³² Yet, remarkably, despite the dealer’s own admission and guilty plea, the case has become a cause célèbre for certain gun groups,³³ with an Oklahoma lawmaker writing President Trump to seek a pardon and to call on the ATF to return all of the seized weapons to the FFL.³⁴

As these examples make clear, the ATF did not go after harmless gun dealers for “minor infractions” or “clerical errors.” Instead, the agency prioritized inspections and license revocations of truly problematic gun dealers who allowed guns to fall into the wrong hands or made it harder for the ATF to trace crime guns. In this way, the ATF’s “zero tolerance” policy was effective in holding gun dealers who knowingly violated the law to account.

The Trump administration’s decision to rescind the policy does not remove the ATF’s ability to revoke FFLs for willful violations — that authority comes from the federal Gun Control Act — but it does make it harder for the ATF to carry out its law enforcement mission, and sends a message that the gun industry’s profits are more important than public safety.

In the end, we’re left to wonder why the gun industry — which admits that “[f]irearm retailers are on the front lines” when it comes to “keep[ing] firearms from getting into the wrong hands” — would fight so hard against efforts to secure its own supply chain and to hold accountable the truly bad actors.³⁵

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Trump DOJ Ends Policy That Shuttered Dangerous Gun Dealers

Introduction