Biden’s New Gun Rule Could Create an Enforcement Mess, Former Agents Say

A new rule on gun sales is set to go into effect on Monday, and former agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives predict chaos.

A customer checks out a hand gun that is for sale.
A new gun sale rule is set to go into effect on Monday. Brittainy Newman/AP

Former ATF agents say a new Biden administration rule to restrict certain gun sales will be near impossible to enforce consistently — and some worry it’s another instance of their agency being used for politics.

“You get marching orders from on high,” a retired special agent for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told NOTUS. “‘Hey, we’re going to be concentrating on this type of crime because that’s what the administration wants.’”

“We are used politically at times,” he added. “For sure.”