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BATFE, Firearm Importation & Federal Firearm Law Reform

Among its duties, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) monitors firearm manufacturers, importers and dealers for compliance with record-keeping requirements; conducts traces on the commercial paths of individual firearms at the request of law enforcement agencies; interprets firearm importation law; and administers transfers of firearms regulated by the National Firearm Act of 1934.

The BATFE was used by the Clinton administration to reduce the number of firearm dealers, and by the administrations of presidents G. H. W. Bush and Clinton to restrict “assault weapons” by misinterpreting firearm importation law. The agency’s tracing data, sometimes useful in identifying persons involved in illegally trafficking firearms, have been mischaracterized by gun control supporters in the context of their campaigns against “Saturday Night Specials” and “assault weapons,” and in favor of making state gun laws more restrictive.

BATFE has been widely criticized for its role in the “Ruby Ridge” and “Waco” tragedies, and Operation Fast and Furious, in which the agency knowingly allowed firearms to be bought by straw purchasers and other traffickers, and thereafter smuggled from the United States to Mexico, where they made their way to violent drug cartels.

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News  

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

BATFE whistleblower's revenge case settled

A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent who blew the whistle on the botched Fast ...

The El Paso Times  

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

BATFE gun part of plan to kill Juarez police chief Julián Leyzaola

A weapon tied to "Operation Fast and Furious" was seized in Tijuana in connection with a drug cartel's ...

News  

Friday, August 3, 2012

Deputy Director William Hoover resigns from BATFE in wake of critical report

ATF Deputy Director William Hoover has resigned, just days after a congressional report on Operation Fast and Furious ...

News  

Friday, August 3, 2012

Congressional Report on "Fast & Furious" Reveals Serious Misjudgments

This week, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) released Part 1 of a joint congressional ...

News  

Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Grassley: Report on Operation Fast and Furious

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Senator Chuck Grassley ...

News  

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

5 ATF officials singled out in 'Fast and Furious' GOP report

Five officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives share much of the blame for what ...

News  

Friday, July 20, 2012

Grassley, Issa seek clarification of BATFE acting director's message to employees on reporting agency concerns

Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa today urged the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, ...

News  

Friday, July 20, 2012

BATFE Continues Campaign Against Whistleblowers

In their latest attempt to protect whistleblowers from BATFE reprisal, on July 18 Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and ...

News  

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Congressmen: BATFE whistle blowers receive 'ominous message' from BATFE head

Whistle blowers blew the lid off Operation Fast and Furious, but  the new head of the Bureau of ...

Friday, July 13, 2012

BATFE Modifies Shotgun Import Ban Study, Still Gets It Wrong

In January 2011, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives released its "Study on the Importability of ...

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NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.