The FFLGuard Program is rooted in ABC’s that are both easy to identify and definable in one word: accountability.
For FFLGuard clients, the ABC’s stand for “Above and Beyond Compliance” and are evident in the high standards to which we hold each participant: if you want to qualify for legal services without going out-of-pocket over the FFLGuard yearly fee, then doing more than the law requires (a/k/a “law plus”) is absolutely necessary. We help you achieve these ABC’s by providing our Law Plus Guidelines and other Basic Services and Additional Services to meet a compliance level that we feel, through experience, is beyond reproach.
Further, participation in the Program is not a given. Each client seeking to participate must complete an application and thereafter be interviewed by the National Coordinating Counsel to determine eligibility. It is only after this vetting process that a client is permitted to participate in the Program, so any notions of “pay to play” should be checked at the door.
The ABC’s then extend to how we deal with the ATF and others who handle our clients: anything short of “Across the Board Consistency” is completely unacceptable. One of the major failings of those who regulate (or seek to regulate) FFL’s is a jurisdiction-by-jurisdiction, highly subjective mentality as to who is a right or wrong in the world of firearms sales and compliance. As a result, not only does it happen that sometimes “the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing” but it even gets to where “the thumb and the pinkie on the same hand” are wildly inconsistent in decision-making and execution. From top to bottom, FFLGuard does not tolerate this, nor the myopic view that any one group is judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to a Federal Firearms Licensee.
Calling all to task on these ABC’s is our job. For clients, paying someone to tell them what to do and how to do it usually goes against the DNA of an entrepreneur. We do it, however, for the client’s own good. The same can be said for ATF and others, yet we never commence any dealings with these outside forces in a curt or adversarial fashion. Per our own Mission Statement, all such interactions are approached – at first and multiple times thereafter – with a “collegial, professional and apolitical approach” that highlights our mantra of “education, diplomacy, relationship development and an overall commitment to perfection.”
If this tactic fails, however, then FFLGuard has no problem pitting our best against their best – anywhere, anytime. But now the playing field is even: the deep pockets of the government and public interest groups are a non-factor when put up against the economic strength of the FFLGuard collective, or the willingness of FFLGuard counsel, subject matter experts, and professionals to work pro bono to advance the good of the Program. No longer is it “he who can last longer wins” but instead “may the best man win,” as it should rightfully be.
