SALT LAKE CITY, UT — Attorney General Sean D. Reyes is joining Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach, Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, and Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, 23 other state attorneys general and the Arizona State Legislature in a public comment letter demanding that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms drop a proposed rule that violates the Second Amendment. The proposed rule would make any individual who sells a firearm for profit liable to civil, administrative, and even criminal penalties.
The attorneys general argue that the right to sell firearms for profit among individuals is protected by the Second Amendment.
“For as long as this country has existed, individual law-abiding Americans have sold firearms to friends and family. Doing so would become extremely difficult if this regulation were to take effect. My colleagues and I will do everything necessary to stop this from happening,” Kobach said.
The public comment letter claims that the rule doesn’t clearly define profit, and that it presumes individual sellers are firearms dealers even if the individual only sells one firearm.
“If the Bureau was serious about combatting violent crime, it would focus on enforcing the laws that are already on the books to hold violent criminals accountable for their actions. Unfortunately, the Bureau has instead targeted innocent people who sell firearms. That is not only unlawful but wrong, and the Bureau must change course,” the comment letter reads.
Kansas Attorney General Kobach sent the letter. In addition to the Arizona State Legislature and Utah Attorney General Reyes, the attorneys general of the following states also signed the letter: Iowa, Montana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
