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1 [1] (April 15, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/govepov0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Firearms Dealers Engaged in the Business On June 25, 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA; P.L. 117-159). Section 12002 of P.L. 117-159 amends definitions related to firearms dealer licensure in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA, 18 U.S.C. §§921 et seq.). Under the GCA, the definition of engaged in the business undergirds provisions that require persons buying and selling firearms at the wholesale or retail level to be federally licensed as firearms dealers. Section 12002 of P.L. 117-159 amends a subparagraph of the GCA definition of engaged in the business as it pertains to federally licensed firearms dealers by striking the language with the principal objective of livelihood and profit, and replacing it with to predominantly earn a profit. As amended, the definition at 18 U.S.C. §921(a)(21)(C) reads as follows: [Engaged in the business,] as applied to a dealer in firearms, as defined in section 921(a)(11)(A), [means] a person who devotes time, attention, and labor to dealing in firearms as a regular course of trade or business to predominantly earn a profit through the repetitive purchase and resale of firearms, but such term shall not include a person who makes occasional sales, exchanges, or purchases of firearms for the enhancement of a personal collection or for a hobby, or who sells all or part of his collection of firearms. As discussed below, Section 12002 also amends the GCA to define the clause to predominantly earn a profit as specifically excepting firearms transfers made to improve or liquidate a personal firearms collection. Notably, Section 12002 does not amend the parallel GCA subparagraphs defining engaged in the business for firearms and ammunition manufacturers, gunsmiths, and importers at 18 U.S.C. §921(a)(21)(A), (B), (D), (E), and (F). Engaged n the Business and Licensure The GCA requires all persons engaged in the business of importing, manufacturing, and dealing firearms to be licensed as federal firearms licensees (FFLs) (18 U.S.C. §923). Any person who imports or manufactures ammunition must also be licensed, but a federal dealer's license is not required to deal in ammunition. Under Section 922(a)(1)(A) of Title 18 of the U.S. Code, it is unlawful to engage in the business of importing, manufacturing, or dealing in firearms without a federal license. Offenses are punishable by up to five years' imprisonment. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is the federal agency that administers and enforces the GCA and licenses FFLs. Section 921(a)(1 1) of the GCA defines the term dealer to mean Updated April 15, 2024 (A) any person engaged in the business of selling firearms at wholesale or retail [i.e., firearms dealers], (B) any person engaged in the business of repairing firearms or of making or fitting special barrels, stocks, trigger mechanism to firearms [i.e., gunsmiths], or (C) any person who is a pawnbroker. The term licensed dealer means any dealer who is licensed under the provision of this chapter. It is notable that the subparagraph (18 U.S.C. §921(a)(21)(C)) that defines engaged in the business for federally licensed firearms dealers only refers to subparagraph (1 1)(A) of the GCA definition of dealer. The subparagraph does not refer to subparagraphs (11)(B) and (1 1)(C) of the definition of dealer. Hence, gunsmiths and pawnbrokers must be federally licensed as gun dealers, even if they do not meet the conditions set out in the definition of engaged in the business for federally licensed firearms dealers at 18 U.S.C. §921(a)(21)(C). Defining To Predominantly Earn a Profit The amendment to P.L. 117-159 further emphasizes a profit motive as a factual circumstance requiring federal licensure as a gun dealer by defining to predominantly earn a profit to mean the intent underlying the sale or disposition of firearms is predominantly one of obtaining pecuniary gain, as opposed to other intents, such as improving or liquidating a personal firearms collection. Regarding firearms transfers related to terrorism and other criminal conduct, this definition includes the following proviso: That proof of profit shall not be required as to a person who engages in the regular and repetitive purchase and disposition of firearms for criminal purposes or terrorism. For purposes of this paragraph, the term 'terrorism' means activity, directed against United States persons, which- (A) is committed by an individual who is not a national or permanent resident alien of the United States; (B) involves violent acts or acts dangerous to human life which would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States; and (C) is intended- (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;