FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 17, 2026

Gun Owners of America Demands OIG Investigation into DOJ and ATF for Unlawful Disclosure of Sensitive Taxpayer and Private Gun Owner Information

SPRINGFIELD, VA – Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America (GOA), has formally requested that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) launch an immediate investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the DOJ’s Civil Division. The request follows a series of alarming breaches in which the government intentionally filed, on a public court docket, the sensitive tax returns of a GOA member, along with details of this person’s private firearm collection.

During ongoing litigation in Silencer Shop Found. v. BATFE, DOJ attorneys representing the ATF intentionally filed the sensitive tax information and National Firearms Act (NFA) tax returns of a GOA member on a public docket. These disclosures included:

• Two approved ATF “Forms 1,” which legally constitute protected tax returns.
• In a negligent (but presumably inadvertent) move, the government failed to redact the GOA’s member’s name, city, and state.
• The ATF then provided a declaration detailing the exact number of NFA items owned by the GOA member, essentially providing a “map” of the member’s personal firearm collection to the public.

Under 26 U.S.C. § 6103, NFA registration forms are strictly prohibited from public disclosure. Despite this, even after being alerted to the breach and attempting to correct the filings, the DOJ inexcusably publicized much of the same sensitive information a second time.

“The sensitivity of this information cannot be understated, nor can the severity of DOJ and ATF’s breach of personal privacy and possible violations of federal law,” stated Erich Pratt in his letter to Acting Inspector General William M. Blier.

GOA is demanding a formal investigation to determine the specific circumstances that led to this disclosure and to identify the officials responsible for the decision to refile protected records. The investigation seeks to uncover:

• Whether these actions constitute a breach of federal statutes, regulations, or policies.
• What warnings, if any, the ATF provided to the DOJ regarding the sensitivity of the data.
• What new procedures will be implemented to prevent the government from “doxing” gun owners in the future.

“The millions of gun owners represented by Gun Owners of America expect a prompt, transparent, and complete investigation of this matter,” Pratt concluded.

John Velleco, Executive Vice President of Gun Owners Foundation, issued the following statement:

“Gun Owners of America will not stand idly by while the government weaponizes protected tax information on a public forum. We are as committed to defending our members’ privacy as we are to defending the Second Amendment, and this egregious violation must be reviewed with the utmost seriousness.”

Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:

“The government has no right to dox gun owners or broadcast their private tax returns to the world. GOA will not stay silent while federal agencies flout the law to target our members. We take our members’ security as seriously as their constitutional rights, and we will fight to ensure this never happens again.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

-GOA-

DOJ Surrenders its Appeal in Fight Over ATF “Engaged in the Business” Rule

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

April 16, 2026 

Springfield, VA — Gun Owners of America (GOA) and Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) are proud to announce a major win in our ongoing legal battle against the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosive’s (ATF) Biden-era “Engaged in the Business” rule. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has asked the Fifth Circuit to dismiss its appeal of the preliminary injunction GOA, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill, Utah Attorney General Derek Brown, and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch obtained against ATF’s unconstitutional Biden-era “Engaged in the Business” rule.

This rule was just a backdoor scheme by President Biden “to move the U.S. as close to universal background checks as possible without additional legislation.” Under the rule, even a single private firearm sale could suddenly become a federal crime. And ATF inverted the ordinary judicial process, presuming gun owners guilty until proven innocent.

After the enormous pressure brought to bear by gun owners, DOJ is seeking a dismissal allowing the case to return to district court. Our preliminary injunction blocking the rule remains in effect, and GOA will pursue a final order permanently striking down Biden’s unconstitutional and unlawful regulation.

Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:  

“This move by DOJ is a massive step towards fulfilling President Trump’s campaign promise to gun owners to end this Biden rule. Biden’s criminalization of private gun sales was a naked attempt to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of millions of gun owners. GOA and GOF once gain have triumphed over ATF overreach.”

John Velleco, Executive Vice President of Gun Owners Foundation, issued the following statement:  

“We are grateful that the Trump administration has abandon this Biden-era appeal. This sets the stage to protect the rights of millions against Biden’s anti-gun overreach. Future administrations should think twice before they reinterpret federal law to criminalize the Second Amendment like President Biden.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise. GOA represents over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.

-GOA- 

ANTI-GUN GROUP ATTACKS GOA!
They’re attacking us because they know we’re winning. And we want to make them even angrier…

The billionaire funded gun-control lobby is once again attacking us at Gun Owners of America because we’re standing up for the Second Amendment.

They’ve called us “extremists” with insane ideas.

Well, if standing up for the Second Amendment seems insane…

Then maybe the real extremists are the ones who’ve strayed far from the Constitution.

Here’s the thing the anti-gun lobby doesn’t understand.

GOA is fully supported by the grassroots.

That means real people.

Our members don’t want a gun lobby that makes backroom deals with politicians.

They don’t want a gun lobby that will compromise with the political establishment, then sell it to their membership as a win.

They want a gun lobby that is No Compromise.

They want Gun Owners of America.

The billionaire funded gun control lobby is going to have to come up with better scare tactics than simply calling us extremists if they think for one second that we’re going to stop overturning gun control.

GOA is working on your behalf to restore the Second Amendment nationwide.

If you aren’t already, please consider becoming a GOA member so that we can fight on your behalf!