Target: Robert Cekada, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director
Goal: Do not facilitate gun by mail profiteering that could increase illegal gun trafficking and deadly crime.
A teenager in Thailand reportedly killed seven people, including his grandparents, with a gun taken from his grandparents’ home. Across the world in Idaho, a 24-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire in an In-N-Out restaurant, taking the lives of three people before he turned the gun on himself. A few months earlier, a Louisiana man reportedly went on a shooting spree at two difference residences and claimed eight young lives, including all of his children. The latter tragedy is especially heartbreaking, as it took place in the victims’ homes, where they should feel safest. Yet a rising number of gun violence cases end in tragedy at the home. The federal government intends to make these tragedies easier.
Following a presidential executive order aimed at broadening – not restricting – gun access, dozens of deregulatory measures followed. The latest proposal by the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) may just be the most extreme yet. Under the proposed rule, gun dealers would be able to ship weapons by the millions through the mail. Gone would be required in-person background checks and more rigorous waiting periods. Critics contend such a change would increase cases of mail theft, fraud, gun trafficking, and inevitably lead to dangerous people getting more unfettered access to firearms delivered straight to their doorsteps. Even small business gun dealers worry about the impact of these potential changes on their business. Perhaps not coincidentally, larger online outlets – like the so-called “Amazon of Guns” GrabAGun headed by the president’s big game hunter son – stand to benefit the most with hefty financial windfalls.
Public comments are open. Sign the petition below to let your voice be heard against this dangerous and detrimental reversal to decades of precedent.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear Director Cekada,
By your agency’s own estimates, over three million people are expected to utilize new proposed rules for online and shipped purchases of firearms. The ATF has long touted the gun shop as an important line of defense against illegal or fraudulent gun purchases by dangerous actors. Why would this agency derail on of its most important supposed resources and instead put its trust in the very same mailing system that federal leadership has constantly called into question as fraudulent and illegal. You can’t trust ballots in the mail, but you can trust bullets and deadly weapons?
Aside from the very real safety risks and the lives attached to these risks, this proposal would also harm the bottom line of countless gun dealerships and small business owners who are reliant on transfer fees and foot traffic that could suddenly vanish. If you are truly serious about using this period of public comment as a time of reflection, heed these concerns and do not shoot yourself in the metaphorical foot with this ill-advised measure.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Unknown
