Texas Gun Store Challenges ATF Reporting Rule

SAN ANTONIO, Texas -- A San Antonio gun shop is suing over a federal requirement that weapons dealers in four border states must report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

The new requirement, ordered last month by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, follows a 2009 law enforcement operation in Arizona known as "Fast and Furious" that's been criticized for letting high-powered weapons flow into Mexico.

The San Antonio Express-News reports the store, 10-Ring Precision Inc., claims the new requirement goes beyond ATF's authority.

An ATF spokesman says the bureau has the authority and will defend its ability to collect the sales information from gun dealers in New Mexico, Texas, Arizona and California.

Other gun store owners in Arizona and New Mexico have also sued ATF over the new requirement.