Defending Your Right to Keep and Bear Arms — Stopping the ATF’s Illegal Gun List
Stop the Rogue ATF — Defend the Second Amendment Now
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is running a backdoor national gun registry right here in West Virginia.
In Martinsburg, at the ATF’s so-called National Tracing Center, the federal government has already stockpiled nearly one billion firearm records — and now they are scanning between 6 and 9 million more Form 4473 gun purchase records into a massive digital database.
Let’s be clear: this is a National Gun Registry. And history proves that registries always lead to confiscation.
Congress told them not to do it. The Constitution forbids it. Yet the ATF is defying the law and building this list anyway — on West Virginia soil.
I have submitted landmark legislation to shut this unconstitutional scheme down. My bill will:
Ban any gun registry — physical or electronic — from being created or operated in West Virginia.
Hammer violators with civil penalties of up to $100,000 per record.
Require the West Virginia Attorney General to sue the ATF for breaking the law and trampling the Second Amendment.
Empower citizens to take action by suing anyone who participates in a registry.
Create a Second Amendment Defense Fund to fight back against future infringements.
This is not just a bill — it’s a line in the sand.
The Second Amendment is not a suggestion. It is the firewall of liberty.
If unelected bureaucrats can build a searchable list of every gun owner in America, then your right to keep and bear arms is no longer a right — it’s just a permission slip that can be revoked at will.
That ends here, in West Virginia.
This fight is about more than guns. It’s about whether we govern ourselves — or whether Washington bureaucrats get to decide how much freedom we’re allowed to have.
Stand with me.
Sign up today to get my legislative action alerts and help shut down this rogue ATF registry once and for all.
For Liberty,
S. Chris Anders
State Delegate, 97th District
Read my Press Release below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Delegate S. Chris Anders
West Virginia House of Delegates – District 97
Chris.Anders@wvhouse.gov | (304) 620-4506
DELEGATE ANDERS INTRODUCES BILL TO BAN ATF GUN REGISTRY OPERATIONS IN WEST VIRGINIA
Civil Penalties Up to $100,000 for Any Federal Employee or Contractor Who Violates the Law
Charleston, WV – September 17th, 2025 – Delegate S. Chris Anders (R–Jefferson/Berkeley) has drafted landmark legislation to prohibit the creation or maintenance of any firearm registry within the borders of West Virginia — and to hit violators, including federal employees and ATF contractors, with civil penalties of up to $100,000 per record.
The bill comes in direct response to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, which the ATF admits holds nearly one billion firearm transaction records — many digitized and searchable — despite federal law prohibiting the creation of a centralized gun registry.
“West Virginia will not be a party to this unconstitutional act,” Anders said. “The ATF is running a backdoor registry out of Martinsburg. Congress told them not to do it, the Constitution forbids it, and yet they’re still doing it. We’re drawing a line right here — inside our borders, it stops.”
The bill would:
Ban any firearm registry — physical or electronic — from being created, maintained, or operated in West Virginia.
Apply the ban to state agencies, local governments, private individuals, federal employees, and federal contractors.
Impose civil fines from $10,000 to $100,000 per record on violators.
Give the West Virginia Attorney General and private citizens the right to sue anyone who participates in a registry.
Create a Second Amendment Defense Fund from collected penalties to fight future infringements.
Anders emphasized that this is about both Second Amendment rights and state sovereignty:
“The Tenth Amendment makes it clear — the federal government can’t force West Virginia to help enforce an unconstitutional scheme. If Washington wants to trample the Bill of Rights, they won’t be doing it with our soil, our people, or our resources.”
The ATF claims its database is “not searchable by owner name,” but Anders says that excuse doesn’t hold up in 2025:
“With today’s AI and data-mining software, this database is effectively searchable by name. The technology already exists to cross-reference serial numbers, dealers, and other identifiers with public and private records to create a complete list of gun owners. That’s a registry in everything but name — and once the list exists, history shows it’s only a matter of time before confiscation follows.”
Anders is calling on every West Virginian who values their rights to get involved in the fight to stop this registry:
“Go to www.anders4wv.com and sign up for my legislative action alerts. I will send you direct updates on when and how to contact your state legislators, submit testimony, and take action to make sure this bill passes and the ATF’s registry is shut down inside West Virginia.”
“This isn’t just a gun issue,” Anders concluded. “It’s about whether we still govern ourselves in West Virginia — or whether we let unelected federal bureaucrats decide how much liberty we’re allowed to have.”
“This isn’t just a gun issue,” Anders concluded. “It’s about whether we still govern ourselves in West Virginia — or whether we let unelected federal bureaucrats decide how much liberty we’re allowed to have.”
Join the Fight: The ATF is building a national gun registry in West Virginia. I’ve submitted a bill to shut it down — but I need your help. Sign up now for action alerts and stand with me to stop this unconstitutional assault on the Second Amendment.
“The Second Amendment is the firewall of liberty. If the ATF can track every gun owner through a national registry, then our right to keep and bear arms becomes nothing more than a list waiting for confiscation. We must act now to defend the Constitution and ensure that West Virginia is not part of this National Gun Registration Scheme.”
