If suspended or denied, federal firearm licensees or applicants can submit arguments in an ‘informal setting,’ says ATF

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, known as the ATF, has proposed a new federal rule that intends to clarify that an applicant for a firearms license whose application has been denied -- or who faces suspension of an existing license or the imposition of a civil fine -- has a right to a hearing and can anticipate “an informal setting” and the opportunity “to submit facts, arguments, offers of settlement, or proposals of adjustment for review or consideration.”

The ATF has invited members of the public to submit comments about its proposed new rule by May 3. One method is by visiting www.regulations.gov and citing docket number ATF 32P.

The ATF considers the rule more of a “clarification,” than a substantive change in the procedures currently used at such hearings, which are conducted by the agency’s Director of Industry Operations. Applicants generally have 15 days after receiving a notice that their firearms license application has been denied -- or that their license will be suspended or revoked, or that a civil fine will be imposed – within which they can request a hearing, according to a Federal Register notice published by the ATF on Feb. 3.

The existing regulations that will be affected (Subpart E of Part 478) were written to enforce the Gun Control Act of 1968.

“The proposed amendments merely clarify that an administrative hearing, pursuant to a firearms license proceeding, is held in an informal setting where federal firearms licensee or an applicant for a federal firearms license will have the opportunity for the submission and consideration of facts, arguments, offers of settlement or proposals of adjustment for review and consideration by the Director of ATF,” says the notice.

ATF acknowledges this is a “significant regulatory action,” and says the proposed rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). However, it asserts that the rule will not have an effect on the economy equal to $100 million or more, and it will not “adversely affect in any material way the economy….”

The ATF cites several reasons why a federal firearms license might be revoked or suspended, or why a civil fine might be imposed: ( 1 ) if a licensee has “knowingly transferred a firearm to an unlicensed person,” ( 2 ) if a licensee knowingly failed to comply with the federal government’s rules related to the  National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or (3) if a licensee “sells, delivers, or transfers any handgun to any unlicensed person without providing a secure gun storage or safety device for the handgun.”

The current rules pertaining to such ATF hearings already allow a firearms license holder or applicant to be represented by an attorney, a Certified Public Accountant or another person “recognized to practice before ATF.” The current rules also specify that the hearing “must be held in a location convenient to the aggrieved party,” the Federal Register notice explains.

“The proposed regulations are intended to ensure that federal firearms licensees and applicants for a federal firearms license are familiar with the hearing process relative to the denial, suspension, or revocation of a firearms license, or the imposition of a civil fine,” says the ATF.

The author of this ATF notice is Deborah Szczenski, of the agency’s unit responsible for enforcement programs and services, says the notice. Further information is available from Szczenski at 202-648-7087.

In another move related to federal firearm license holders, a federal district court in Washington, DC, issued a ruling last month upholding an Obama administration policy that requires federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles, the NRA explains on its own Website. “The case was brought by two NRA-backed firearms retailers and by the National Shooting Sports Foundation acting on behalf of its affected members.”