A nearly tenfold increase in the cost of the federal license for firearms dealers wouldn't put Frank Kendrick out of business.
But the Houston gun manufacturer and part-time dealer in competition pistols says some acquaintances who hold licenses to take advantage of manufacturers' discounts and enjoy other conveniences probably wouldn't pay."Unless they buy a lot of guns," he said, "it won't be worth it anymore."
That is the goal of a proposal by Treasury Secretary Lloyd Bentsen, who wants to see the fee for dealer licenses raised to $600 a year.
Dealers who sell across their kitchen table or out of car trunks are often the source of powerful weapons for criminals, Treasury officials said Tuesday.
The license fee was $10 a year before Congress increased it last year to $200 for a three-year license - or $66 a year - and $90 for a renewal.
Federal officials contend that raising the fee would reduce the 258,000 licensed dealers by 80 percent, cutting down on the flow of guns and making it easier to trace weapons and enforce existing laws.
While many dealers agree $10 was too low, they worry a sudden fee increase would drive many buyers and sellers into the unregulated sales arena of gun shows and want ads, making many more guns untraceable.
"Gun traceability is directly tied to quality gun dealers doing the paperwork for federal government," said Tom Koessl, a custom firearms dealer in Baileys Harbor, Wis. "If we eliminate 75 percent of existing gun dealers, they are just going to increase two- or threefold the number of people selling guns without any of their previous responsibilities."
Since 1968, anyone with a clean criminal record and no history of mental problems has been able to get a firearms license from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, an agency of the Treasury.
Even at $66 at year, the license is considered a good deal to gun buffs.
"It's cheap. Best bargain in town," Bentsen said Tuesday.
A 1992 ATF study found 74 percent of those holding licenses conducted their gun business from their homes.
Many of the licenses see little activity: 45 percent of the license-holders had not bought or sold a gun within the last year.
Still, the licensing has proved a burden to ATF, which does the background checks, issues licenses and conducts on-site inspections of dealers' records.
With only 240 inspectors, the bureau conducted 27,000 inspections last year. That's only about 10 percent of all licensed dealers.