KANSAS (KSNT) - Since 2021, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has revoked 250 Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL) across the nation. The agency revoked over 30 times more licenses in 2023 than in 2021.
What is an FFL? An FFL is a business or individual who engages in the business of manufacturing, importing and/or dealing firearms, according to the ATF. An FFL licensee has violated the Gun Control Act if they:
Of the FFL licenses that were revoked, eight were in Kansas.
On June 23, 2021, President Joe Biden and Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a Gun Crime Prevention Strategy. Garland said the ATF would prioritize FFL inspections and consider the extent to which firearms sold by dealers were later used in criminal activity.
"The Justice Department’s violent crime reduction strategy and our initiatives to stem the rising tide of illegal — illegal guns will save lives. But these steps alone will not solve the problem of violent crime. Success depends on all of us joining together," Garland said.
Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has been critical of the ATF's actions following the announcement of the Gun Prevention Strategy.
“In the last three years, Mr. Biden’s ATF has revoked the licenses of an unprecedented number of gun stores across the country for what amount to paperwork errors,” Kobach said in a Washington Times op-ed. “Eight of them are in my state of Kansas. What in the past would have resulted in a friendly phone call and updated paperwork now results in the ATF shutting down the store.”
If an FFL is found to be out of compliance, they can appeal the revocation in federal court. Information on the appeals process can be found here.
From 2021 to 2023, the ATF revoked the following FFL licenses in Kansas:
Reasons listed for revocations include an alleged flood and subsequent burning of ATF records, failure to conduct a background check, providing a false statement on an ATF record, transferring firearms before background checks were cleared and approving a Concealed Carry Permit prior to a required background check.
In addition to the eight FFL license revocations, four FFL licensees voluntarily ceased operations, according to the ATF.
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