The new move by the Biden Administration to expand who must seek mandatory federal background checks when transferring a firearm was met with condemnation from pro-gun groups. 

The White House and Department of Justice late last week debuted the final ATF rule updating the current definition of what is it to be "engaged in the business" as a firearms dealer. Long ambiguous, the new 466-page rule on the subject is even more murky but authoritarian-leaning, with the White House going so far as to say, "The final rule clarifies that even a single firearm transaction may be sufficient to require a license if there is other behavior to suggest commercial activity."

This shift, which boils down to moving towards universal background checks without outright saying it enacts universal background checks, found support from mainstream Democrats, liberal think tanks, and anti-gun groups. 

However, those on the other side of the conversation to keep and bear arms were more critical. 

"The president is claiming this will keep guns out of the hands of felons, and he knows better,” Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb told Guns.com. "If history has taught us anything, it would be that criminals do not obtain the guns they use through legitimate channels and that gun control laws have never prevented criminals from obtaining a firearm. All this rule will accomplish is to place yet another burden on honest citizens wanting to exercise their Second Amendment rights."

Gottlieb noted the new rule, which takes effect in 30 days, is "almost certain to be challenged in federal court."

Speaking to the probability of legal action against the pending rule, Randy Kozuch, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislative Action, was candid, saying, "The Administration has conceded that it cannot enforce this unlawful rule in criminal cases because they know that it exceeds the limited authority granted to them by Congress and, in some cases, expressly contradicts the statutory text. NRA is already working to use all means available to stop this unlawful rule."

A spokesman for the trade group of the American firearms industry, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, told Guns.com that the organization is still examining the entirety of the rule, which they have always maintained overstepped ATF's authority to craft law – a task that is the sole responsibility of the U.S. Congress. 

"ATF has no authority to 'improve' on what Congress enacted or to create new crimes not enacted by Congress," said Mark Oliva, the NSSF's public affairs director. "An agency may not re-write statutory terms or fill in what the agency considers to be 'gaps' or 'loopholes' in the statute. The Gun Control Act (GCA) is a criminal statute, and ATF’s reading is not entitled to any deference. Given that the GCA is a criminal statute with the same meaning in a civil context, ATF may not create presumptions thereon for civil or administrative purposes."

NSSF advised they have passed on these concerns to lawmakers on Capitol Hill who are weighing potential actions.

Banner images: CZ pistols on display at SHOT Show, an NSSF event. (Photo: Chris Eger/Guns.com)