Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Eric Burlison (R-MO) recently introduced a bill to abolish the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). They argue that the agency has been used to violate the Second Amendment.
The lawmakers stated that the objective of the measure is to “safeguard Americans’ Second Amendment rights and protect law-abiding gun owners from the relentless bureaucratic overreach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms”.
Rep. Burlison argued that the agency “is emblematic of the deep-state bureaucracy that believes it can infringe on constitutional liberties without consequence” and “If this agency cannot uphold its duty to serve the people within the framework of the Constitution, it has no place in our government.”
Boebert said she “cannot imagine under any circumstance or administration where the ATF serves as an ally to the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearm owners across America.”
🚨 NEW: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has filed legislation to abolish the ATF.
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 6, 2025
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Boebert railed against the ATF in the last Congress, saying the agency goes way too far in "rulemaking" authorities.
"We don't trust the ATF because of their overreaching… pic.twitter.com/SQcjxOlolh
The press release also mentions the ATF’s history of abuse against American citizens, referring to the massacre at Waco, its actions at Ruby Ridge, and Operation Fast and Furious.
Burlison has also introduced a measure to repeal the 1934 National Firearms Act that “unjustly taxes, registers, and restricts American gun owners.”
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Under President Joe Biden, the ATF has ramped up its efforts to restrict gun ownership. The agency issued a rule mandating that gun manufacturers who make “ghost gun” kits must comply with federal gun laws. This means they must conduct background checks, obtain a federal license, and add serial numbers to the kits.
The ATF also issued a rule that redefined firearms with stabilizing braces as rifles or short-barreled rifles. This means those who own these devices are subject to stricter regulations under the National Firearms Act unless they are registered. Aspects of the rule were later successfully challenged in court.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX), who served as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs at the time, gave a scathing criticism of the ATF’s pistol brace rule. He argued that “This rule will effectively turn many lawful gun owners into criminals if they fail to comply, even though Congress did not act to pass any new criminal laws or penalties related to stabilizing braces.”
Michael Cargill, owner of Austin-based Central Texas Gun Works, supports the idea of abolishing the ATF but has reservations about this particular bill, which is less than one page long and simply reads: “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is hereby abolished.
“In order to go forward with this bill, you’re going to have to have a plan of action of what’s going to happen,” Cargill told Townhall.
Cargill successfully sued the federal government over the bump stock ban, a case that the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decided in a ruling that overturned the ban. He suggested that simply doing away with the ATF without a plan to address how the Justice Department could still be used to violate Second Amendment rights would accomplish little.
ATF originally fell under the IRS. Now, the ATF falls under the Department of Justice. The way all the bills that are written that pertains to firearms are written to the DOJ, passed down to the to the ATF, and if you get rid of the ATF, you've got to have a plan of how you're expecting everything to be laid out. You just can't get rid of the ATF and not have a plan of action.
Cargill further argued that if there is no “plan of action…then when that next president that comes in that has a ‘D’ behind their name, a Democrat, we’re all going to be f*cked.”
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