ATF is targeting another home-based FFL. “Tom Harris has been selling guns from his Lewisville, Texas home for 30 years… Today, he is one of the largest home-based gun dealers in North Texas. He has more than 10,000 customers across the country and has sold more than 184,000 firearms…
After an audit last year, two ATF special agents asked some pointed questions about multiple firearms Harris sold to an individual…
One of the ATF officials – Special Agent Aaron Loving – told Harris’ attorney he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Harris’s attorney documented this conversation in a letter… And then the ATF changed its mind.
A few months later, Special Agent Loving recontacted Harris’ attorney, stating, ‘We need Tom to give up his license voluntarily. The bosses up the chain want him to turn in his license or face adverse actions,’ Harris recalls his attorney saying…
Last month, Special Agent Loving and his partner personally served a Notice of Revocation to Harris…
Harris’ Notice of Revocation contains two violations:
‘On 10 occasions, Licensee willfully aided and abetted a non-licensee in dealing firearms without a license as required by the GCA…’
‘On 46 occasions, Licensee willfully made a false statement or representation with respect to information required by the GCA …’
Like other home-based FFLs, Harris was told nothing would happen if he surrendered his FFL voluntarily. Like other home-based FFLs, ATF wanted more than just compliance and his license.
‘They were taking pictures left and right, which I knew was inappropriate,’ Harris said. ‘They used a scanning app on their phones to photograph 4473s. At the end of one session, an inspector demanded a copy of my entire electronic database.’
Harris never handed over the database. He intends to fight. “