Comment on FR Doc # 2026-09157

Comment on Docket No. ATF-2026-0266; ATF 2025R-26P; RIN 1140-AB05 Revising Non-Over-the-Counter Firearms Transaction Requirements I am a federally licensed firearms dealer and respectfully oppose the proposed expansion of non-over-the-counter (NOTC) firearm transfers. Federal firearms licensees are more than regulated businesses. We serve as a critical frontline safeguard against straw purchases, firearms trafficking, and other unlawful firearm transfers. Our responsibilities extend beyond verifying identification, completing ATF Form 4473, and obtaining a NICS response. Every over-the-counter transfer includes direct, face-to-face interaction that allows dealers to ask questions, observe demeanor, evaluate consistency of responses, and identify signs of coercion, deception, or other suspicious behavior. Through training, experience, and ongoing cooperation with ATF, licensed dealers develop the professional judgment necessary to recognize indicators of unlawful activity that cannot be detected through paperwork or a background check alone. Dealers regularly refuse transfers based on suspicious circumstances even when the purchaser receives a “proceed” response from NICS. These concerns are not hypothetical. In my experience as a federally licensed firearms dealer, I have worked directly with ATF during multiple investigations involving suspected straw purchasers attempting to acquire firearms for trafficking organizations, including transactions believed to be connected to Mexican drug cartels. In those investigations, face-to-face interaction revealed suspicious behavior and inconsistencies that warranted immediate communication with ATF. Those experiences demonstrate that licensed dealers are active partners in preventing illegal firearm diversion before it occurs. Expanding NOTC transfers would significantly reduce the effectiveness of this safeguard. Even when conducted by video, remote transactions cannot replicate an in-person encounter. Video provides only a limited field of view, depends on technology and the purchaser’s chosen environment, and is more easily controlled or manipulated. Individuals engaged in straw purchasing or trafficking can rehearse responses, receive coaching outside the camera’s view, or conceal circumstances that would often become apparent during an in-person transaction. Likewise, experienced dealers may observe signs of coercion, impairment, agitation, or other concerning behavior that, while not independently establishing a legal prohibition, causes the dealer to ask additional questions or refuse the transfer in the interest of public safety. That professional judgment cannot be replicated through remote identity verification. Although the proposed rule retains NICS checks, identity verification procedures, and notifications to chief law enforcement officers, those safeguards address only legal eligibility and identity. They do not replace the human element that has long been central to the integrity of firearm transfers. Technology may confirm who a person is, but it cannot reliably determine whether that person is acting voluntarily, purchasing on behalf of another individual, or exhibiting behavioral indicators that an experienced dealer would recognize during a face-to-face interaction. Congress and ATF have long relied upon licensed dealers to serve as gatekeepers within the federal firearms regulatory system and as partners in identifying suspicious transactions. Weakening the face-to-face transfer requirement removes one of the most effective preventative tools available to both dealers and law enforcement while providing little corresponding public safety benefit. For these reasons, I respectfully urge ATF to withdraw the proposed expansion of non-over-the-counter firearm transfers. Any final rule should preserve the longstanding requirement for face-to-face firearm transfers so licensed dealers may continue exercising the professional judgment that plays an essential role in preventing straw purchases, firearms trafficking, and unlawful firearm diversion. Thank you for the opportunity to submit these comments.