Justice Dept. rules to close ‘gun show loophole’

The Justice Department has finalized rules to close a loophole that allowed people to sell firearms online, at gun shows and at other informal venues without conducting background checks on those who purchase them.

Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland celebrated the rules and said they would keep firearms out of the hands of potentially violent people who are not legally allowed to own guns.

The rules — which are expected to take effect in 30 days — codify changes outlined in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which was signed into law by President Joe Biden in June 2022 and expanded which gun sellers were legally required to conduct background checks on buyers.

“Every person in our nation has a right to live free from the horror of gun violence. I do believe that,” Harris said on a call with reporters. “We know how to prevent these tragedies, and it is a false choice to say you are either in favor of the Second Amendment or you want to take everyone’s guns away.”

As part of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, officials tasked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which is responsible for regulating the sales and licensing of firearms in the United States, with developing rules that would make clear to gun owners how officials will implement and enforce the new gun laws.

The rules clarify who is required to conduct background checks and aims to close what is known as the “gun show loophole” — which refers to the reality that gun-show sellers and online vendors are subject to much looser federal regulations than vendors who sell at bricksand-mortar stores.

Under long-standing federal law, people who operate gun shops must register with the government to obtain a Federal Firearms License. But people who claim selling firearms is not their main source of income — such as people who sell guns at shows or in other more informal settings — have been exempt from such licensing rules.