The Biden-era “zero tolerance” policy for gun dealers is just one of many examples of how “zero tolerance” isn’t quite what people think. Many believed the term meant they were cracking down on actual bad actors, and not people who made mild paperwork errors, miscalculated the 3-day waiting period, or other innocent mistakes.

However, “zero tolerance,” in any form, means there’s no leeway for anyone to recognize unproblematic behavior and adjust accordingly. That’s exactly what happened with the Biden-era policy.

Thankfully, that’s over. That doesn’t even touch on

And now we get to the reaction stage of things.

Erich Pratt, the senior vice president of Gun Owners of America, said in a statement, “For years, the Zero Tolerance Policy has been a tool of political retribution—targeting gun stores and Americans who were simply trying to exercise their rights. We applaud President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and Director Kash Patel for listening to gun owners and taking action to repeal this abusive policy. This is what pro-gun leadership looks like.” 

Over at the Firearms Policy Coalition, the sentiments were similar when the group’s president, Brandon Combs, said, “On behalf of our members, we commend and thank President Trump, Attorney General Bondi, and ATF Director Patel for taking these important actions to protect constitutional rights and repeal the misguided ‘Zero Tolerance Policy’ implemented by their predecessors. Having been in the trenches for years fighting numerous Biden-era gun control initiatives, FPC has been a vocal advocate for these reforms, so we are encouraged by today’s announcement. We also look forward to collaborating with ATF and DOJ leadership on the deregulation of stabilizing braces and revisiting the ‘engaged in the business’ rule regarding lawful firearms commerce, two policies that were weaponized by the previous administration against the firearms community.”

But not everyone is thrilled with the ruling.

Emma Brown, the executive director for Giffords, put this out on X.

Might sound complex but it’s actually very simple: this puts gun dealers breaking the law back in business. About as soft on crime as you can get! https://t.co/K6Ow77tv3R

— Emma Brown (@Emma_S_Brown) April 7, 2025

Of course, both that post and the one she’s replying to are completely inaccurate.

Those who are willfully breaking the law can and likely will continue to be prosecuted. The ATF’s policy was never about them. The gloves have always been off with dealers that are actively breaking the law on purpose.

What is happening now is that dealers who make paperwork errors aren’t facing the loss of their business, to say nothing of possible prison time, simply because of a good-faith mistake. This isn’t about dealers who are throwing guns sold to criminals on the 4473s of lawful purchasers to cover the paperwork. It’s not about the guys selling guns out of the back of the store and then pretending the guns were stolen. 

None of those kinds of offenses are going to slide without a “zero tolerance” policy.

I’m not surprised that anti-gunners are determined to try and present it as so, though. In their mind, no one who owns a gun, much less sells them, is an innocent person. They’ve all proven themselves to be wrong simply because they don’t embrace gun control. As such, they’re determined to paint all of us in the worst light possible. That means acting like “zero tolerance” just impacted the bad actors and not the thousands of others who made errors while trying to comply with complex laws, customers waiting, and the demands of running a business.

Frankly, nothing here is anything I didn’t expect to see, but it’s always nice when people live up–or, in Brown’s case, down–to your expectations.