Today, B. Todd Jones resigned as Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), ending what has been a tumultuous tenure as the agency head since July 2013.
Jones’s resignation comes at a time when BATFE is the target of a major backlash over the agency’s proposed change in federal regulations that would have banned certain types of 5.56-caliber ammunition, including popular M855 ammunition. Since the ban was announced, BATFE received more than 300,000 public comments concerning the proposal, with House and Senate majorities also sending joint letters to Jones opposing the ban. The overwhelming response prompted BATFE to table the proposal.
However, rather than disown the proposed ban outright, on March 12, Jones reiterated BATFE’s concerns about M855-type ammunition to lawmakers. During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Jones stated, “But as we see more and more of the firearms that could be classified as pistols, being able to use not just this M855 round, but any 5.56 round, it's a challenge for officer safety, public safety.”
It is too early to say with any certainty that the ongoing furor over BATFE’s proposed ammunition ban played any role in Jones’s resignation, but we can be sure that the public and Congressional outcry didn’t help the embattled Director. BATFE has announced that following Jones’s departure, Deputy Director Thomas E. Barton will assume the role of Acting Director.
B. Todd Jones Out at BATFE

Friday, March 20, 2015

Wednesday, June 29, 2022
On Monday June 27, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the launch of the California Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Firearms Dashboard Portal. The data tool was designed to give granular firearm transaction and Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) permit ...
Tuesday, June 28, 2022
New Jersey’s acting Attorney General, Matthew J. Platkin, issued a directive “clarifying requirements for carrying firearms in public” a day after the historic ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. ...
Thursday, June 30, 2022
One week after our landmark victory in NYSRPA v. Bruen, the Supreme Court issued orders in two other NRA-ILA backed cases. Those cases, ANJRPC v. Bruck and Duncan v. Bonta, challenge New Jersey and California laws that ban magazines capable ...
Thursday, June 23, 2022
The National Rifle Association (NRA) welcomes the Supreme Court’s decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen. The Court affirmed that the right to bear arms does not stop at a person’s front door. This is the most ...
Friday, June 24, 2022
On Thursday, SCOTUS released a historic decision in the NYSRPA v. Bruen case when they found the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding Americans to carry a firearm outside of the home. Despite the hysteria from ...
More Like This From Around The NRA
