By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, a pro-Second Amendment Republican, is now being lauded by the National Shooting Sports Foundation for introducing S. 1922, known as the FIREARM (for “Fighting Irrational Regulatory Enforcement to Averet Retailers’ Misfortune) Act.
According to an NSSF statement, Ernst’s legislation “would prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from shuttering Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) over minor clerical mistakes and allows them to correct self-reported errors.”
This was a major complaint from the firearms industry during the Joe Biden administration, as the former president and his handlers “weaponized” the ATF by adopting a “zero tolerance policy” toward retailers by initiating license revocations for even the smallest clerical mistakes in their paperwork. The Trump administration has reversed that policy.
In a news release from Ernst announcing the legislation, the two-term senator stated, “The Biden administration’s zero-tolerance policy empowered gun grabbers in Washington to infringe on the Second Amendment and shutter small businesses. Iowans spoke loud and clear in November that they were tired of bureaucratic overreach. My FIREARM Act disarms the out-of-control ATF and ensures that the rights of law-abiding gun owners are protected.”
According to her release, the FIREARM Act specifically:
- Creates a safe harbor for FFLs to self-report violations, so they can correct any accidental errors;
- Requires the ATF to work collaboratively with FFLs to fix violations and help avoid future violations;
- Addresses the “willfulness” issue by defining it to mean a voluntary, intentional violation of a known legal duty achieved through specific intent or deliberate planning, excludes previous conduct, and creates a rebuttal if the conduct is not willful; and
- Allows for direct judicial review of license revocations to avoid the ATF from serving as both the judge and prosecutor.
“Senator Joni Ernst’s ‘FIREARM’ Act will ensure that future administrations cannot weaponize the ATF as a political gun control tool for special interests,” said Lawrence G. Keane, NSSF Senior Vice President & General Counsel in the NSSF release. “Under the Biden administration, the firearm and ammunition industry witnessed the ATF being weaponized to carry out that administration’s extreme antigun policies. That damaged the cooperative relationships between firearm retailers, who are on the frontline preventing illegal straw purchases of firearms, and the ATF, which enforces laws to safeguard our communities. NSSF is thankful for Senator Ernst’s leadership to provide remedies that repair this necessary public trust in our federal agencies.”
While Ernst has gun owner and industry support, Democrats definitely want to defeat her in 2026. Opposition is already heating up over Ernst’s statements on budget cutting.
Politico is reporting on statements made by Iowa State Rep. J.D. Scholten, who announced Monday he will challenge Ernst next year. He came out swinging with what have become typical boilerplate allegations that Ernst’s beliefs hurt her constituents. He alleged Ernst is indifferent about Medicaid cuts which may hurt Iowans.
“We’re taking them off [Medicaid], so billionaires can have a second yacht, so they can have a bigger tax break,” Scholten reportedly said. “We have a system that’s geared towards and favors billionaires and huge multinational corporations, and that’s not working for most of Iowa.”
The Nation reported how Democrats hope plan to regain control of Congress by urging Republicans to hold Town Hall meetings and allowing them to “reveal their own cruelty.”
