Gun Owners of America, a prominent Second Amendment advocacy group, on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives over its controversial “zero tolerance” policy aimed at shutting down gun stores.
The lawsuit, titled Morehouse Enterprises v. ATF challenges the ATF’s rigid inspection guidelines for federal firearms licensees implemented in January 2022, which make it easy for the agency to pull a gun store’s federal license.
The gun-rights group argues that the ATF’s zero tolerance policy infringes on the rights of law-abiding citizens and is a weaponization of federal agencies for political purposes.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt criticized the Biden administration’s approach: “This zero tolerance policy towards lawful commerce guaranteed by the Second Amendment is just the latest example of this Administration weaponizing federal agencies against their political enemies.”
Pratt called for defunding the ATF, asserting there is an immediate need to protect the rights of gun owners.
Sam Paredes, a board member of the Gun Owners Foundation highlighted the detrimental impact the ATF’s policies have on small businesses, saying “It’s ridiculous that good people trying to make an honest living are facing this assault on their livelihoods simply over inconsequential paperwork errors.”
The lawsuit came after the ATF targeted a North Dakota gun store, Morehouse Enterprises. Morehouse had already filed a lawsuit against the ATF, after which the agency conducted a surprise inspection of Morehouse, and found five violations — out of 5,000 gun sales or purchases by Morehouse. Before Morehouse filed its lawsuit, it had never gotten a visit for the ATF, which is now trying to suspend Morehouse’s gun store license.
