From the ATF issuing a new rule, strengthening the definition of “willfully” to protect FFLs and gun owners, to the Department of Justice fighting us on our lawsuit against the NFA’s registration requirements, and filing our latest lawsuit against the State of Pennsylvania… GOA has been busy.
You deserve an update.
Recently, the ATF issued a new Notice of Proposed Rulemaking indicating they are redefining the term “willfully,” to better protect gun shops and FFLs from a future “zero tolerance” policy.
This change strengthens protections for dealers and gun owners alike, shielding them from the same weaponization that the Biden-era ATF used to shut down businesses en masse.
The rule is a step in the right direction, but it’s not perfect.
That’s why we’re asking GOA members to leave comments asking ATF to strengthen the rule further.
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Next, the Department of Justice continues to fight us in our “Big Beautiful Lawsuit” against the registration requirements of the National Firearms Act.
While President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act reduced the $200 tax on certain NFA items to $0, the registration requirements on those items remain.
That’s why we’re suing. Oral arguments were just held in our case, and we’re excited to see what comes next.
Also, GOA & GOF announced recently that we’re suing the State of Pennsylvania!
Our case centers around denials of concealed carry permits to those convicted of misdemeanor drug charges.
In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in US v. Hemani, we’re confident that the founders intent was not to see otherwise law-abiding citizens deprived of their rights for small amounts of marijuana.
And finally, GOA’s GOALS convention is on the horizon.
The event takes place in Des Moines, Iowa on August 1st – 2nd and is FREE for GOA members to attend!
Come out and enjoy over 150,000 square feet of guns, gear and hear from the top voices in the 2A community!
Register for GOALS here!
One of the worst Biden-era ATF rules was known as the “zero tolerance” policy.
This rule weaponized the federal code against firearms dealers, turning misspellings on paperwork into license revocations.
The rule was designed to shut down as many dealers as possible, limiting law-abiding Americans’ access to the Second Amendment.
Under Biden, license revocations increased over 500%, leading to the highest number of FFLs closing in two decades.
But thanks to a change at ATF under President Trump and ATF Director Robert Cekada, the zero tolerance policy has been rescinded.
Now, the ATF has proposed a rule which targets the foundational reason that Biden could create the zero tolerance rule in the first place:
The legal definition of “willfully.”
The proposed rule isn’t perfect, but it’s a step in the right direction, and we need to strengthen it.
That’s why we’re calling on all GOA members to make their voices heard and submit our model comment to ATF.
The Department of Justice continues to fight us in our case against the National Firearm Act’s registration requirements.
While President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” Act reduced the taxes on certain NFA regulated firearms to $0, the Senate Parliamentarian ensured that the registration requirements remained in place.
We’re suing to remove the registration requirements on these untaxed items.
But, the self proclaimed “most pro-gun Department of Justice in history” is fighting us tooth and nail to prevent this from happening.
The DOJ wants to keep the registration scheme in place, allowing ATF to continue to maintain a registry of these items—even without the registration being tied to a tax payment—which was the original intent of Congress.
Oral arguments were held in our One Big Beautiful Lawsuit this week, and I traveled to Texas alongside one of GOA’s attorneys, who did an outstanding job presenting our case before a federal judge.
Of course, the DOJ presented their arguments as well, using every trick in their book to keep this unconstitutional registry intact.
We’re excited to have this case move forward, and as always, we’ll keep you updated as it develops!
GOA just filed a lawsuit in Pennsylvania, challenging the state’s ban on issuing concealed carry licenses to anyone who’s been convicted under the state’s Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act!
Our lawsuit focuses on a specific part of the CSDDCA, where small non-violent offenses and misdemeanors under the act turn into complete bans on otherwise lawful Pennsylvanians to access their Second Amendment rights.
We at GOA know that the founders would not have wanted to deny Americans access to their Second Amendment rights over small a misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
And thanks to the recent Supreme Court ruling in the case US v. Hemani, we’re confident that the Pennsylvania court will agree.
Read the full article here
