The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Friday requested emergency permission to require that gun dealers report to them bulk sales of the high-powered semiautomatic rifles favored by drug cartels — all part of the Administration’s effort to combat the flow of guns to Mexico.
It is a plan that had languished for months at the Justice Department because of concerns over what the National Rifle Association (NRA) might think. The Washington Post reports now that it was held up by the White House in the spring — around the same time that President Barack Obama promised Mexican President Felipe Calderon he’d work to prevent gunrunning south of the border.
The effort, sources told the newspaper, was shelved by Rahm Emanuel, then-White House chief of staff. The plan “was perceived as too volatile just before midterm elections,” the Post reported. But the plan made it into the Federal Register last week after ATF Deputy Director Kenneth Melson asked DOJ to try again.
The emergency plan, published in the Federal Register on Friday, requires gun deals to report to ATF any sales of two or more semiautomatic rifles with a caliber greater than .22 and a detachable magazine over a five-day period. Dealers are already required (and have been for decades, according to the Post) to report the sales of multiple handguns to the ATF. The plan must be approved by the Office of Management and Budget, and is valid for 180 days.
As TPM has reported, gun control advocates are unsatisfied with the progress being made during the Obama administration, which has steered clear of the volatile issue. The NRA, on the other hand, has opposed the administration’s nominee to head ATF, making him unlikely to be confirmed.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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