viral video shared on Instagram The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has updated its background check policy, claiming it exempts “illegal immigrants” from purchasing firearms.
Verdict: False
An ATF spokesperson denied the validity of the claim in an email requesting fact-checking.
Fact check:
The City of Baltimore is suing the ATF, alleging it “wrongfully denied important gun crime data.” CBS News. Mayor Brandon Scott claims the department denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request in September for data investigating gun violence in Baltimore from 2018 to 2022, the newspaper reported.
An Instagram video with more than 74,000 likes claims the ATF has updated its background check policy and exempted “illegal immigrants” from purchasing firearms. The woman in the video claims she received information from her husband, who allegedly runs a gun store.
However, this claim is false.by ATF websiteNon-citizens residing in the United States are not automatically prohibited from purchasing firearms, but may do so under certain criteria.
Specifically, the ATF website states that “Aliens who are legally present in the United States may be admitted to the United States on a nonimmigrant visa and meet the exceptions set forth in 18 USC 922(y). The purchase of firearms is not prohibited unless one of the following conditions is met. 2) Possession of a valid hunting license or permit, etc. ”
In addition to exceptions regarding hunting licenses, 18 USC 922(y)(2) It also provides exceptions for official representatives of foreign governments under several criteria and for foreign law enforcement officers of friendly foreign governments who enter the United States on “official law enforcement business.”
Similarly, we found “Check the facts” There is no reliable news recently. There are reports that support that claim. (Related: Tweet attributed to Jack Smith is from a parody account)
ATF spokesperson Johnny Michael denied the validity of this claim in an email to Check Your Fact.
“The claims in the Instagram post are false. In the Gun Control Act, Congress establishes legal prohibitions on the possession of firearms by certain persons, including certain categories of non-citizens, and the bipartisan Safer Communities Act against GCA The amendments to the law did not change those categories,” Michael said.
of Gun Control Act of 1968 The law excludes several categories of people from shipping, transporting, receiving, and possessing firearms and ammunition, including fugitives, illegal aliens, and those who have renounced their U.S. citizenship. ATF website.
In addition to checking the facts, lead story also debunked that claim.
