A coalition of 18 state attorneys general led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta is urging the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to withdraw a proposal that would allow military weapons to be sold commercially without individual ATF review.
Under current law, manufacturers producing machine guns, silencers, and destructive devices under federal contracts must generally destroy or export excess weapons that fall out of a federal contract, unless ATF grants an individualized determination for late registration. The proposed rule would create an automatic path for commercial sale without ATF's case-by-case review process.
"Weapons made for U.S. government contracts should not be funneled into civilian markets through an automatic rubber stamp," Bonta said. "ATF's proposal would weaken oversight, undermine firearm tracing, and create new opportunities for machine guns, silencers, and other dangerous weapons to be lost, stolen, or trafficked."
The National Firearms Act imposes strict registration and transfer controls on weapons considered particularly dangerous for civilian possession. While manufacturers may be relieved from registration requirements during federal contract production, current law does not automatically allow them to register and sell such weapons once a contract ends.
ATF's own economic analysis estimates the change could generate $611.3 million in annual profits for manufacturers of certain destructive devices and $217.6 million in annual savings on disposal costs. The states argue the proposal would remove an important cost incentive for manufacturers to produce only contractually required amounts and would weaken firearm registration records that law enforcement relies on to trace weapons recovered in crimes.
The coalition also includes attorneys general from Illinois, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai'i, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.