Comment on FR Doc # 2026-09157

**Public Comment on Docket ATF-2026-0266** My name is Megan Eaton, owner of Fletcher Arms, a federally licensed firearms retailer, shooting range, and training facility. Every day, my team conducts firearm transfers, verifies customer identification, completes background checks, and trains responsible firearm owners. Because we perform these transactions daily, we have firsthand experience with the safeguards provided by the current in-person process. The proposed rule would allow many firearm sales to be completed remotely through virtual identity verification, a NICS background check, notification to the local chief law enforcement officer, a seven-day waiting period, and shipment directly to the purchaser's residence. While certain direct-to-consumer transfers already exist, those involve an extensive government approval process, including fingerprints, photographs, and individualized review. This proposal creates a new pathway without that level of approval. My primary concern is fraud. In-person identification involves much more than comparing a photograph. Dealers examine identification documents, observe the purchaser, ask follow-up questions, and refuse transactions when something appears suspicious. Remote video verification cannot fully replicate those safeguards. Identity theft, synthetic identity fraud, account takeovers, and payment fraud continue to challenge financial institutions and government agencies despite advanced remote verification technologies. ATF has not demonstrated that virtual verification provides protections equivalent to face-to-face identification or adequately evaluated the additional fraud risks. The proposal also reduces an important layer of oversight. Licensed dealers regularly identify suspicious behavior, recognize potential straw purchases, and stop questionable transactions based on in-person observations that cannot always be made over video. Finally, this rule would disproportionately impact small federally licensed firearms dealers. Independent gun stores depend on firearm sales and transfers to support firearm safety training, range operations, customer education, and other services that benefit their communities. Allowing direct shipment shifts sales away from local businesses and toward large online retailers while offering consumers little practical benefit, as the proposal still requires a seven-day waiting period and adds an identity verification cost. ATF has not demonstrated that the current in-person system is failing or that the benefits of this proposal outweigh the increased fraud risk and economic harm to small businesses. I respectfully recommend that ATF: * Retain the current requirement for in-person identity verification for standard firearm transfers. * Conduct a more comprehensive analysis of identity theft, payment fraud, and remote impersonation risks. * Reevaluate the proposal's economic impact on small federally licensed firearms dealers. * Demonstrate, with evidence, that the proposed rule provides a measurable public benefit that justifies replacing the existing in-person process. As a federally licensed firearms dealer, I support policies that improve public safety while preserving lawful access to firearms. In my opinion, this proposal weakens an effective safeguard, creates additional opportunities for fraud, and harms the small businesses that have long served as responsible partners in the firearm transfer process. I respectfully urge ATF to withdraw or substantially revise the proposed rule.