A spokesman for the Gun Owners of America explains why this is a huge win for citizens, despite the ongoing government shutdown.
Despite the government shutdown, one division won’t be resting so easily this coming week.
After facing a great deal of pressure from members of the Gun Owners of America over the past two weeks, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) have announced that it will recall examiners of the National Firearms Act (NFA) to return to work this week, following its previous effort to put private citizens’ applications on hold for NFA-regulated firearms.
As a result, it’s expected that the backlog of applications will be cleared within seven to ten days, depending on the number of applications.
“This breakthrough ends the unconstitutional delay on Americans’ Second Amendment right to purchase and transfer firearms regulated under the archaic NFA, a battle GOA has fought since day one of the shutdown,” Gun Owners of America noted in a statement.
Adding to that, Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President for the group, said, “We are grateful to the Trump administration for recalling NFA examiners to work during the shutdown, ensuring that law-abiding Americans can once again exercise their rights without unnecessary government delays. The whole situation just proves exactly why Congress must repeal the archaic National Firearms Act. Gun owners shouldn’t be forced to beg the government’s permission to exercise their rights.”
A spokesman for the group – either Mark Jones or Stephen Willeford – joins us now to discuss the situation further. We welcome them to the show!
Q&A:
- Why did the ATF try to halt the processing of application for NFA-regulated firearms to begin with? Part of government shutdown business?
- How disastrous a situation would this have become if applications continued to build up over time? Would the ATF ever have gotten caught up on them if they didn’t agree to bring back examiners this week?
- Why is it so vital for these applications to get approved? Will citizens not be able to be granted firearms otherwise?
- Why is it so important right now for citizens to have the right to bear arms? What about those that would argue about the dangers of guns?
- Where do you see the discussion surrounding gun rights going as 2026 approaches?
- FOR STEPHEN: You recently wrote a book called A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy, revolving around your 2017 “hero with a gun” situation. Tell us more about how this came together, and why it’s such an important read right now.
- FOR STEPHEN: Where can people find your book?
- You can purchase the book here on Amazon, both in paperback and Kindle format.
- FOR MARK: Tell us more about the Hunter Outreach program.
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as Gun Owners of America?
- You can learn more at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com. You can also read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Mark Jones…
Mark Jones serves as a National Director and National Spokesperson for Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF).
Mark, a Certified Wildlife Biologist® for three decades, began working for Gun Owners of America over four years ago after retiring from government service where he had 30 years of experience performing wildlife research, publishing peer-reviewed scientific papers, managing wildlife resources, working with hunters and recreational shooters, supervising and mentoring other professionals, and engaging in legislative issues and governmental policy.
In 2021, Mark founded and currently leads Gun Owners of America’s National Hunter Outreach Program known as Second Amendment Hunters. The Program’s mission is to engage and involve America’s 16 million+ hunters in the political fight to protect the Second Amendment and the American hunting traditions.
Mark focuses on two primary areas: 1) GOA’s core mission of protecting and defending the Second Amendment through rigorous Legislative and Judicial actions, and 2) developing Second Amendment Hunters (SAH) into a national leader in protecting American hunting opportunities and traditions at the federal and state levels.
Mark’s responsibilities allow him to work to protect Second Amendment Rights and hunting traditions in Washington D.C., state capitals across the Country, and in the capital of his home state of Wyoming.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all gun rights issues, as well as the importance of Gun Owners of America. He is the author of the book A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy. You can read more about him at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com.
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