ATF Registry Rule: Comment Now
-
The ATF comment period on records retention is open right now, and it's the kind of thing that quietly closes before most people hear about it.
"ATF's own 1985 rulemaking acknowledged that the law-enforcement value of firearms records drops sharply after 10–15 years. ATF also admitted to Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX) that the agency has no ability to link crime gun traces to actual prosecutions."
So by ATF's own accounting, the data loses investigative value inside 15 years — but the proposal keeps it for 60. That math only makes sense if tracing crimes isn't actually the point.
"If you've bought a gun from a dealer that later closed, your 4473 is already at ATF."
This isn't theoretical for a lot of us. Gun shops close all the time — I've bought from at least three that don't exist anymore. Every one of those transactions is already sitting in a federal database. This rule decides whether there's ever an end to that.
The GOA model comment at gunowners.org/na20260511 takes about three minutes to submit. Worth doing before the window closes.
How many of you have bought from dealers that have since shut down — and did you know those records transferred to ATF when they did?
Read the full article in The Handbook → | By Steve Duskett
Hello! It looks like you're interested in this conversation, but you don't have an account yet.
Getting fed up of having to scroll through the same posts each visit? When you register for an account, you'll always come back to exactly where you were before, and choose to be notified of new replies (either via email, or push notification). You'll also be able to save bookmarks and upvote posts to show your appreciation to other community members.
With your input, this post could be even better 💗
Register Login