A small part of the bipartisan gun law Congress passed last year broadened the definition of a “gun dealer” as a way of reducing the number of sales that don’t go through the background check system.
President Joe Biden ordered the Justice Department earlier this year to write the regulation so the government could get “as close as we can to universal background checks without new legislation.”
Only those who are “engaged in the business” of firearms have been required to register as federal firearms licensees, while people who don’t regularly sell guns, such as hobbyists, have been exempt.
