In order to open a gun store an individual must obtain a federal firearms license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly known as the ATF. In processing the applications the ATF will contact the local jurisdiction to inquire about the zoning of the parcel where the sales are to take place. When four people in Camden County, Missouri applied for licenses from the ATF, their county government responded to ATF’s inquiry by refusing to cooperate, stating in a letter that the county has an ordinance “prohibiting any county employee from assisting your unconstitutional agency in violating the rights of our citizens.” The presiding county commissioner stated that “Any and all federal firearms laws, so-called laws, in my opinion, and many others’ opinion, are unconstitutional.”
The net effect, of course, is that the ATF will be unable to provide these four citizens with federal firearms licenses to sell guns. The law works in mysterious ways.
