Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard has declassified the Biden Administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism. Uncovered in the documents is the Democrats’ plan for gun control.
The 15-page report called on the federal government to stop the proliferation of so-called “ghost guns.” The Biden administration targeted privately manufactured firearms (PMF) as a significant problem. Shortly after taking office, President Joe Biden issued an executive order (EO) instructing the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) to take action on unserialized frames. The ATF issued a new rule banning the sale or transfer of unfinished frames without serial numbers, colloquially known as 80% firearm frames.
Multiple gun-rights groups would challenge the rule in court for violating the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). After numerous successes at the District and Circuit Court levels, a case launched by the Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) made it to the United States Supreme Court. Seven of the nine justices voted to uphold the ATF rule, which led to the continued ban on selling or transferring 80% firearm frames.
Although the rule slowed down the home-building community, it did not stop it. Instead of buying frames from companies like Polymer80, builders started 3D printing complete firearms frames, defeating the purpose of the rule. Instead of making it easier to track homemade guns, the government forced people to innovate. These 3D-printed frames were more complicated to track than those produced by companies like Polymer80 and 80% Arms.
The plan also included methods for pressuring states to pass extreme risk protection orders (EPROs). ERPOs are also known as red flag laws. These orders allow police to seize the firearms of gun owners without due process. A hearing is held without the target present or even knowing it is happening. This courtroom process is called an ex parte hearing. The evidence can be as little as an allegation by a family member or roommate. Gun rights activists have referred to these laws as gun confiscation orders.
The Biden administration tried to pass a national red law but failed due to resistance in Congress, so pressuring the states with the promise of funding was their path forward. The Biden Administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism tried to get more states to enact these constitutionally dubious red flag laws with varying success.
The final part of the plan was to enact a so-called “assault weapons” and “large capacity magazine” ban. There is no standard definition for the term “assault weapon.” It was a term coined in the 1990s by anti-gun groups to demonize certain semi-automatic firearms with certain cosmetic features. An assault weapons ban was tried during the Clinton era with no measurable success in stopping gun violence.
As part of the 1994 assault weapons ban, the Clinton Administration also banned magazines holding more than 10 rounds. They used the term “large capacity magazine,” whereas the gun community calls them standard capacity magazines. Since AR-15 ships with 30-round magazines, the gun industry feels that the term large capacity magazine is a propaganda term used to scare the general public into supporting a ban.
The banning of assault weapons and standard capacity magazines failed. If the Biden administration’s plan succeeded, the gun world would have changed for the worse. Luckily, there was too much resistance in Congress to force a bill through that would have disarmed millions of Americans.
The Biden Administration’s Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism is a glimpse into how deep gun control ran under the last president. Luckily, a second term under a Democrat didn’t happen, or gun owners would have never known about this anti-gun plan.
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
