To discuss how the rulemaking will impact gun makers, importers, and retailers, we have Larry Keane of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) on the show. NSSF is the gun industry's trade group, which represents most of the major gun brands in America. Keane said the ATF's proposed changes are the most significant he's seen, and he outlined some of the rules he believes will have the greatest impact.

He said that while the ATF consulted NSSF on some of the rules, the group was still reviewing the full text of the dozens of proposals. He argued it will help streamline recordkeeping and sales processing for the gun industry, as well as minimize potential paperwork violations. Keane said the change to the definition of what constitutes a willful violation will help prevent the sort of zero-tolerance policy the Biden Administration imposed.

Keane also said the rollback of the pistol brace rule is promising but leaves some questions open. He said the industry doesn't think the gender ID change will prevent anyone from buying guns, but wants further clarity. Still, he said NSSF is very happy with the overall package.

Special Guest: Larry Keane.

That's why I'm interviewing the head of the gun industry's trade group. National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) general counsel Larry Keane is back on the show to detail where the industry is at today and where it's headed. Perhaps the biggest question to answer is what tariffs will do to domestic and foreign firearms companies.

Keane said tariffs, even the reduced levels of the latest "pause," are likely to drive up costs for gun and ammo makers. He said importers are likely to be hit the hardest, but domestic manufacturers aren't immune from increased raw material costs either. He said NSSF is waiting to see exactly how things shake out and it expects some of its members will face steep challenges from the tariffs while others may end up benefiting from them.

He also said he's hopeful the tariffs are just a negotiating tactic on the part of President Trump and believes they could lead to something positive for the industry. Keane noted NSSF's latest report shows strong long-term growth among gun businesses. Although, he did admit sales have been down recently and demand could remain relatively soft in the short term.

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Special Guest: Larry Keane.

Gun companies have long struggled to obtain and keep banking services in place despite government pressure in the form of Operation Chokepoint and private pressure from big banks refusing to work with them. But now, gun buyers are facing pressure too. Gun-control advocates convinced the organization that oversees credit card merchant codes to create one for gun stores in hopes of flagging "suspicious" transactions for law enforcement.

So, we have Larry Keane on to tell us how the industry is handling the change. He is the Senior Vice President of the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF), which represents gun makers and dealers. They are the literal gun lobby.

Keane said the change is part of a larger plan to try and surveil gun owners. He said the goal is to restrict the ability of Americans to buy guns.

He said the code change alone is unlikely to significantly change how things work because the credit card companies are resisting flagging sales based on it. However, he said the goal is to not only track sales by merchant code but to reform the system to allow credit card companies to see every individual product somebody buys. That would effectively allow them to track, report, and block any gun sale to anyone in the country.

Advocates for the code change argue it could be used to identify patterns that indicate they may be planning a mass shooting. Keane said that's not realistic. He argued nobody has identified any discernable buying actions that reliably set them apart from the millions of Americans who buy guns every year.

He also talked about the industry slowdown that's started to show up in major companies' earnings reports. The two publicly-traded gun makers, Smith & Wesson and Ruger, saw huge dropoffs in revenue and profit. Keane said the downturn was to be expected after two years of record sales, and he isn't terribly concerned about it.

Plus, Contributing Writer Jake Fogleman explains Dick Heller's latest win over DC's gun restrictions.

Special Guest: Larry Keane.