While President Biden has not been successful in pushing gun bans or implementing restrictions on the Second Amendment, his administration seems to have found another way to infringe on this basic American right: Clamp down on gun stores and force many of them to close over minor clerical errors.

Gun Owners of America (GOA), a Second Amendment advocacy group, reports that gun stores are shutting down at an alarming rate due to the Biden administration’s “zero tolerance” policy for gun dealers. The administration has also updated the language defining what constitutes a “willful” violation, resulting in a 16-year high in revocations of Federal Firearm Licenses (FFLs), according to the Daily Caller.

According to a GOA fact sheet and leaked documents on the updated policy, the rise in FFL revocations is partly due to language and administrative changes within the ATF. The previous guidance stated that the ATF “may” revoke FFLs, while the new “zero tolerance” policy specifies that the ATF “will” revoke FFLs for initial violations. The increased number of license revocations, including 92 in 2022 alone, is also attributed to the updated ATF procedure. Instead of following a multi-step process, the agency now often revokes licenses for various “willful” violations, the outlet reported.

“Back in the day there was a process that they would go through when they discover a mistake or an incorrect record, and it starts with a warning letter. They work with the FFL, and then on second inspection, if they find more mistakes, they’ll do a work conference and actually talk to the FFL. Then, if they still are uncompliant, after that they would do a license revocation hearing,” GOA Director of Federal Affairs Aidan Johnston the outlet.

The DCNF reported that according to Johnston, under the Biden administration’s new policy, the warning letter and conference safeguards are frequently bypassed, resulting in the ATF revoking licenses in the first instance.

What's better than GOA gaining access to private ATF documents? GOA LEAKING private ATF documents!In case you missed it, we blew the lid off the ATF's new "zero tolerance" policy. pic.twitter.com/jTdFegJWqw

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) February 16, 2023

“That’s not how regulatory agencies are supposed to work in the sector that they’re supposed to regulate. They are supposed to help the companies, they’re supposed to ensure compliance, but they’re not supposed to punish and destroy an entire industry based on just political opposition or political distaste,” Johnston continued.

The outlet noted further that the fact sheet reveals that the number of license revocations in 2022 was the highest since 2008, triple the number from 2021, and surpassed the number of revocations during years when twice as many gun stores were inspected. Additionally, the ATF conducted 136 warning conferences, which is the harshest penalty inspectors can recommend without revocation.

“The real problem is that under Biden the ATF can’t be trusted to not use the so-called zero tolerance policy to shut down legitimate gun stores. Biden is already illegally using the ATF to redefine what a firearm is without the authorization of Congress to implement his attack on the rights of gun owners,” gun rights advocacy group Second Amendment Foundation founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb told the Daily Caller.

NBC affiliate WCYB 5 reported that J.C. Harrison, a store owner from Johnson City, Tennessee, received a letter from the ATF in April 2022 informing him that his license had been revoked. Harrison appealed the decision but was ultimately denied. He stated that the action was a “back door” attack on the Second Amendment. He added that his purported “violations” were merely clerical errors, such as not documenting when repaired firearms were returned to their owners, the outlet reported.

“You’re supposed to do a background check if it exceeds 30 days. It came back good, but it came back 30 days and then the 31st day the customer came to pick the gun up,” Harrison said. “My wife and I, this was our sole income, and it’s not anymore.”