Obama's EAs included a huge pro-gun win....say goodbye to CLEO sign off on NFA purchases...

[branford]

5. No, it will not.

It's an ATF regulation, no EO, and requires a full comment period and compliance with the Administrative Procedure Act and all other applicable laws and regulations.

In fact, since the original proposed regulation included the discretionary CLEO sign-off, and it was ultimately dropped, the BATFE likely believed it wouldn't survive legal challenge, particularly in light of the fact that most federal circuits have now struck down similar "may issue" firearm regulations (with the notable exception of NY, CT and VT in the 2nd Circuit). Given the low number of owned NFA weapons subject to the regulation and the lack of any crimes or accidents with them, realizing that "shall issue" vs. "may issue" laws are ripe for Supreme Court review, and not wanting to further antagonize Congress when the president is requesting more funding for the politically unpopular BATFE, the agency wisely chose not to push their luck (and do something they could cite to pro-gun Congressmen and Senators).