Category: Business

ATF facial recognition: Chairman Andy Biggs seeks records as gun owners sound alarm

Gun owners across America have every reason to be outraged. According to a March 27, 2025, letter from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been secretly using facial recognition technology to track and identify gun owners—all without sufficient oversight, transparency, or even basic training for agents.

Biggs, who chairs the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance, is now demanding that Acting ATF Director Kash Patel hand over all documents relating to the agency’s use of facial recognition software. The call for answers follows multiple bombshell Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports and revelations that the ATF conducted at least 549 facial recognition searches between 2019 and 2022, often on law-abiding Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.

“The Subcommittee has concerns about ATF’s use of facial recognition and AI programs and the effects that its use has upon American citizens’ Second Amendment rights and rights to privacy,” Biggs wrote.

A Pattern of Overreach

This latest scandal adds to a growing list of examples proving that the federal government simply cannot be trusted with gun owner data. As AmmoLand News previously reported, the ATF has flirted with or outright pursued unconstitutional surveillance for years—compiling digitized firearm transaction records and maintaining nearly 1 billion records at its National Tracing Center.

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Parents’ Lawsuit Against Gun Maker Dismissed by Court

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit filed by the parents of a teenager who was accidentally shot and killed by a friend. The court cited the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which shields gun manufacturers from liability in cases where harm arises from the unlawful use of their products. Justice Sallie Updyke Mundy emphasized that the Gustafsons’ claims were not viable under this statute.

This ruling is significant as it reinforces protections for gun manufacturers against tort claims, a legal framework that many states grapple with in the wake of increasing gun violence. The parents argued that the law contravened their rights under the commerce clause and the 10th Amendment; however, these challenges were also rejected by the court, highlighting the ongoing debate over accountability in the gun industry.

Just a few days over 8 years ago, 13 year old James Gustafson was killed when his friend, 14 year old  John Burnsworth, pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger. Burnsnworth maintained that since the magazine had been removed he thought the gun was unloaded, not realizing there was still a round in the chamber. Burnsworth was convicted under juvenile law for involuntary manslaughter

Gustafon’s parents brought a civil lawsuit against Springfield Armory and Saloom Department Store, which sold the pistol to its lawful owner. The Gustafons claimed the design of the pistol was defective, and accused the manufacturer and dealer of negligent design and sale, as well as negligent warnings and marketing, arguing that those actions caused their son’s death.

A trial court threw out the lawsuit, ruling that this type of litigation is prohibited under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, but the state Superior Court reinstated the lawsuit and remanded the case back to the lower court. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, however, in a unanimous decision, held that the PLCAA is constitutional and dismissed the Gustafson’s lawsuit with prejudice.

I think this indicates DOGE cut off another bunch of grifters money supply

National Gun-Control Group Lays Off Most Staff

March For Our Lives is slashing its employees and appointing a new leader.

The gun-control group announced it would cut ties with 13 of its 16 full-time staffers last week. It also named a new executive director. Jaclyn Corin, a 24-year-old Parkland survivor and group co-founder, will take the reins as the organization attempts to navigate bumpy terrain in the wake of the 2024 election.

“We are facing financial challenges as an organization, not unlike many nonprofit advocacy organizations in this time,” Corin told The 19th. “I am sure things would look differently with a different outcome of the election, but these are the systems and circumstances in which we have to make adjustments based on the financial situation we find ourselves in. It is incredibly unfortunate that these cuts have to happen.”

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The Supreme Court has upheld the ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule.

During the Biden ‘administration’ ATF ruled that “80%” receivers were to be treated and regulated just like they were fully finished guns.

The were sued and it went all the way to SCOTUS.

Justices Alito and Thomas were the only ones to dissent. All the others agreed. Regard the fate of future decisions accordingly.

 

Gun maker closes up shop in N.J., taking 146 jobs with it to the Midwest

Gun manufacturer Henry Repeating Arms says it is making a strategic move to relocate its operations out of New Jersey and into the Midwest, according to a statement released by the company.

The manufacturer will close its Bayonne operations and move jobs to its newly expanded headquarters in Rice Lake, Wisconsin. It will also move jobs to two additional facilities in nearby Ladysmith, Wisconsin.

The closure affects 146 workers at the Bayonne operation according to WARN notices filed March 13.  Henry employs more than 800 people, according to its website.

According to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives, Henry’s New Jersey facility manufactured 35,069 firearms in 2022. This included 25,012 rifles, 1,433 shotguns, and 8,624 handguns.

The company said in the statement that the move out of New Jersey accommodates the need for increased production capacity and better supports the company’s future growth driven by innovative firearms design.

“We are putting all of our eggs in one basket, the Wisconsin basket, because it makes us more efficient, more productive, and allows for more collaboration amongst our design and engineering teams, all while sustaining and enhancing Henry’s solid reputation for quality,” said Anthony Imperato, Founder and CEO of Henry Repeating Arms.

“With about 400,000 square feet of cutting-edge manufacturing operations in four facilities within minutes of each other, Henry Repeating Arms is well positioned for its next chapter.”
Andrew Wickstrom, president of Henry Repeating Arms, said the new phase will help the company grow.

“This transition allows us to double down on what we do best — making world-class rifles, shotguns, and revolvers right here in the heart of America,” said Wickstrom. “Our Wisconsin operations have been essential to our success for a long time, and now it is the cornerstone of our bright future.”

Actually I think the other nations that want to use the Suez canal and Red Sea for commerce should be upping their patrolling too

Lawmakers Pushing Commerce Secretary To Dump Biden Admin’s Gun Export Restriction.

A group of 88 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate are pushing to have the Biden Administration rule restricting firearm exports by law-abiding American manufacturers reversed, and they want it done now.

On March 7, the lawmakers, led by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tennessee, sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick requesting reversal of the policy, which was part of the Biden Administration’s weaponized attack on gun owners, gun sellers and gun makers.

“As soon as is practically possible, we respectfully request that you rescind the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security’s (BIS) recent interim final rule (IFR) ‘Revision of Firearms License Requirements,” the letter stated. “This misguided and destructive IFR is costing the American firearms industry nearly $500 million annually while doing nothing to advance U.S. interests or regional stability. Despite numerous attempts to rein in these actions through letters, legislation, hearings, markups and oversight, the Biden BIS ignored Congress and used the IFR to advance the Biden administration’s anti-firearms agenda.”

The letter also referenced President Donald Trump’s recent executive order instructing new Attorney General Pam Bondi to review all orders, regulations, guidance, plans, international agreements and other actions of executive departments and agencies that violate the Second Amendment or furthered the Biden administration’s anti-firearms agenda.

“Section (2)(b)(vii) of the executive order specifically requires the review and remediation of any agency action regarding the ‘processing of applications, to make, manufacture, transfer or export firearms.’ Because this IFR stops the commercial export of firearms, ammunition and related components to over 36 countries and severely limits the ability of American businesses to obtain export licenses, we believe this IFR ought to be addressed immediately.”

For his part, Sen. Lee said now is the time to act to get this onerous restriction off the books.

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Trump Kills an Intrusive Housing Rule, Again

This past week, Scott Turner, President Trump’s new secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced that HUD would be terminating the notoriously intrusive Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) rule. By attaching strings to billions of dollars in community development block grants from HUD, AFFH gives the feds the ability to control zoning regulations and many other aspects of local government.

AFFH severely undermines our federalist system, not only by expanding central control but by turning suburban municipalities into helpless satellites of neighboring urban centers. Over and above engineering residential patterns by race, ethnicity, English proficiency, country of origin, and more, AFFH is designed to urbanize suburbs — forcing dense development to cluster around public transit hubs with the goal of coercing suburbanites out of their cars.

Supposedly, AFFH carries out provisions of the Fair Housing Act of 1968. In reality, the rule is classic regulatory activism. It reads contemporary policy goals back into a law that mandated no such thing. AFFH, for example, slyly imposes a principle of “economic integration” on the suburbs, although nowhere does U.S. law recognize or demand economic integration.

In sum, AFFH is a systematic attack on America’s suburbs, an attempt to undercut their economic and political independence, urbanize them, and ultimately to absorb them into their greater metropolitan regions as if they never existed to begin with. The rule was the brainchild and longtime dream of President Obama’s Alinskyite community organizing mentors, who hated the suburbs, dismissed them as products of racism and greed, and blamed them for urban decay. AFFH is federal overreach on stilts, very arguably the most radical policy initiative of Obama’s presidency. Truly, the rule was designed to fundamentally transform the United States of America.

Thanks to President Trump, AFFH failed to do so. Trump, in fact, has uprooted AFFH twice. He killed off the Obama version in 2020, while running for reelection. Now Trump has moved to terminate the only very slightly revised Biden version of AFFH.

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Senators Send Letter Urging Repeal of Biden-era Rule Damaging the Firearms Industry

On March 5th U.S. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) and U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) sent a letter to Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick urging him to rescind an interim final rule (IFR) that the Biden Administration promulgated in an effort to hamstring the domestic firearms industry.

In October 2023, President Biden ordered a 90 day “pause” on firearm exports licenses issued by the Department of Commerce.

This order was in lock-step with other actions taken by the Biden Administration to hinder the U.S. domestic firearms industry in any way possible. And unsurprisingly, at the end of this “pause” the Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) issued an IFR in April 2024. This IFR placed much tighter restrictions on semi-automatic firearms exports, listed dozens of countries as “high risk” countries which would be subject to a “presumption of denial” for export permits, removed a “presumption of approval” for licenses to many countries that had helped to expedite the process previously, and a number of other restrictions. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, an organization that represents firearms manufacturers, stated that this decision would cost the industry nearly $500 million annually.

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Mexico’s Frivolous Lawsuit: What SCOTUS Got Wrong About the Firearm Industry

Predicting how the U.S. Supreme Court might rule on a particular petition is risky business. Most legal analyses of the Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc., et al. v. Estados Unidos Mexicanos hearing this week are leaning in one direction – that the Court is likely to reject Mexico’s claims and ultimately dismiss their frivolous $10 billion lawsuit against U.S. firearm manufacturers.

After all, there’s no evidence to support their claim. Mexico can’t show the court how a lawfully-made and lawfully-sold gun that is illegally straw purchased, illegally smuggled across an international border, illegally possessed in Mexico and criminally misused by narco-terrorist drug cartels is the responsibility of U.S. gun makers. There was discussion among the justices and the lawyers about legal concepts and terms like “proximate cause,” “foreseeability” and “aiding and abetting,” but the simple understanding is that the justices seemed skeptical that they should accept that U.S. firearm manufacturers should be on the hook legally because they might foresee that someone, somewhere and years from when a gun is made, could criminally misuse that gun to cause harm that requires the government of Mexico to spend money in response. That’s the part that gives common sense and sanity a fighting chance in this case.

Some of the justices’ questions demonstrated that they did not all seem to fully understand how the industry legally conducts business.  Here are a couple of examples.

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The Schools Reviving Shop Class Offer a Hedge Against the AI Future
Hands-on skills are staging a comeback at leading-edge districts, driven by high college costs and demand for more career choices

In America’s most surprising cutting-edge classes, students pursue hands-on work with wood, metals and machinery, getting a jump on lucrative old-school careers.
School districts around the U.S. are spending tens of millions of dollars to expand and revamp high-school shop classes for the 21st century. They are betting on the future of manual skills overlooked in the digital age, offering vocational-education classes that school officials say give students a broader view of career prospects with or without college.
With higher-education costs soaring and white-collar workers under threat by generative AI, the timing couldn’t be better.
In a suburb of Madison, Wis., Middleton High School completed a $90 million campus overhaul in 2022 that included new technical-education facilities. The school’s shop classes, for years tucked away in a back corridor, are now on display. Fishbowl-style glass walls show off the new manufacturing lab, equipped with computer-controlled machine tools and robotic arms.
Interest in the classes is high. About a quarter of the school’s 2,300 students signed up for at least one of the courses in construction, manufacturing and woodworking at Middleton High, one of Wisconsin’s highest-rated campuses for academics.
“We want kids going to college to feel these courses fit on their transcripts along with AP and honors,” said Quincy Millerjohn, a former English teacher who is a welding instructor at the school. He shows his students local union pay scales for ironworkers, steamfitters and boilermakers, careers that can pay anywhere from $41 to $52 an hour.

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NYT Obliterates the Myth That Planned Parenthood Is About Anything Other than Abortion

Once in a while, the mainstream media does something useful — even if it’s just saying the quiet part out loud.

I came across a New York Times piece from earlier this month that makes some startling revelations about one of the left’s biggest sacred cows: Planned Parenthood. Reporter Katie Benner begins her piece by telling the story of a woman who went to Planned Parenthood for an abortion.

The single mother still experienced bleeding and cramps after the procedure, so she returned to Planned Parenthood, where clinicians told her that she was fine and that nothing was wrong. She later delivered a stillborn baby at 12 weeks. It’s a heartbreaking account, but it’s also a worthwhile springboard to Planned Parenthood’s failures.

Benner reports:

Planned Parenthood is synonymous with the fight to preserve abortion rights. But it is also the health care provider of last resort to millions of the poorest Americans. Its clinics offer cancer screenings, birth control, annual gynecological exams, and prenatal care, regardless of whether patients can afford to pay. The organization is unique in its reach, one of the few health care providers with a presence in all 50 states.

But a New York Times review of clinic documents and legal filings, as well as interviews with more than 50 current and former Planned Parenthood executives, consultants, and medical staff members, found that some clinics are so short of cash that care has suffered. Many operate with aging equipment and poorly trained staff, as turnover has increased because of rock-bottom salaries. Patient counts have shrunk from a high of five million and 900 clinics in the 1990s to 2.1 million patients and 600 clinics today.

Planned Parenthood has massively fundraised off the Dobbs decision in 2022, to the tune of nearly $500 million that year alone. However, the organization’s bylaws require that the vast majority of that money go toward lobbying for baby-killing. Thus, the functions of Planned Parenthood that genuinely help people go underfunded or totally unfunded.

Benner points out that much of the funding for healthcare at Planned Parenthood clinics comes from Medicaid, and that varies from state to state. To be fair, the disjointed nature of state funding hurts the healthcare side of the organization.

However, another one of the left’s sacred cows is at odds with this part of Planned Parenthood’s mission. Obamacare is giving poor women more options for healthcare, which means that fewer of them go to these clinics for procedures other than abortion.

Clinics are running out of money for healthcare options, so they’re running out of supplies, failing to properly keep up facilities, and laying off staff. But can you guess which aspect of Planned Parenthood thrives? You guessed it: abortion.

“There are bright spots, especially in areas of the country that support abortion rights,” Benner reports. It’s tremendously sad to see the phrases “bright spots” and “abortion rights” in the same sentence.

She continues:

Planned Parenthood in Illinois recently opened an 11,200 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in Carbondale, a few hours drive from the borders of Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Missouri, which have banned or severely restricted abortion. The affiliate boosted salaries for staff and improved benefit packages as it prepared to welcome women from nearby states who were seeking abortions.

An affiliate in Ohio made substantial upgrades to an abortion clinic, and clinics in Southern New England have kept wait times low.

In conservative media, we often use the clickbait phrase “saying the quiet part out loud” in headlines. In this case, the New York Times did just that.

In lamenting Planned Parenthood’s trouble with healthcare funding, Benner reveals that the organization is keeping the main thing the main thing and focusing on abortion. That has always been Planned Parenthood’s primary mission and always will be — regardless of how hard the left tries to push the myth that Planned Parenthood is all about healthcare.

Gov. Rhoden Signs Pro-Second Amendment Bill into Law

Gov. Rhoden Signs Pro-Second Amendment Bill into Law

PIERRE, S.D. – Today, Governor Larry Rhoden signed SB 81, which prohibits the use of a firearms code for transactions involving firearms, accessories, components, and ammunition and to provide a civil penalty therefor.

“I am proud to protect our Second Amendment rights with the signing of this bill,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “South Dakota has seen strong growth of our firearm industry, and this bill will help that continue. I am grateful that both the bankers and the firearm industry came together on this issue.”

A private signing ceremony was held this morning and included representatives from South Dakota’s growing firearms industry, South Dakota’s banking industry, the National Rifle Association, and prime sponsors of the bill. You can find a picture of Governor Rhoden signing SB 81 here.

Governor Rhoden has signed 35 bills into law this legislative session.

BLUF
In the unlikely event Mexico’s case is not dismissed, President Sheinbaum would do well to remember that discovery in civil litigation in America goes both ways

Trump Designating Cartels Terrorists Isn’t ‘Worrisome’ To Lawful U.S. Gun Manufacturers

The assertion that U.S. firearm manufacturers ‘sell arms to criminals’ is a flat-out lie.

President Donald Trump’s State Department has officially designated several murderous drug cartels, including Tren de Aragua and MS-13, as foreign terrorist organizations. Bloomberg Opinion columnist Juan Pablo Spinetto labeled that decision “worrying” while attempting to argue against the president’s move.

Never mind the thousands of lives lost every year to drug cartel violence in both Mexico and the United States. Pay no attention to the more than 250,000 American deaths since 2018 from illegal drug use by fentanyl smuggled into the United States from Mexico across a virtually open Biden-era border. Disregard that after four years of woeful inaction by an American president barely at the steering wheel, the new Trump administration is following through with the campaign promises he made to the American people to protect them from such violence. Spinetto has other concerns.

While describing to readers why, in his determination, President Trump’s move forward to label Mexican narco-terrorist drug cartels as international terrorist organizations would be “worrisome,” Spinetto takes an uninformed and bogus potshot at the lawful and highly-regulated U.S. firearm industry.

“The proposal to treat cartels as terrorists … adds significant collateral risks: Anyone who has contacts with narcos, knowingly or not, could be accused of collaborating with terrorists, from avocado producers in Michoacán that pay to stay alive to the US gun industry that has been selling arms to criminals,” Spinetto writes. The assertion that U.S. firearm manufacturers “sell arms to criminals” is a flat-out lie.

Mexico, of course, has no Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms for its citizens and the one and only firearm retailer in the country is in the heart of Mexico City, located on a military base. Firearms legally exported from the United States to the Mexican military have gone through rigorous and thorough end-to-end security checks, attempting to ensure that American-made guns do not fall into the hands of anyone else, especially the cartels.

After all, there are documented reports of Mexican soldiers defecting to work for narco-terrorist drug cartels, bringing with them over 150,000 firearms stolen from Mexican armories. Virtually all of the firearms used by the Mexican drug cartels, on the other hand, are illicitly possessed illegal arms unlawfully smuggled into Mexico by a network of drug cartels, through theft or straight-up government corruption. These facts are well known. Spinetto knows all of this too, of course, but the facts are inconvenient for his argument.

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