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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  

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

More Fast and Furious questions for Attorney General Holder

Newly-released documents show that last February, on an official visit to Mexico, Justice Department official Lanny Breuer suggested ...

News  

Monday, January 30, 2012

DOJ dodges, won't say when Holder knew of border guard's death

A document the Department of Justice sent to Congress Friday shows that Eric Holder's deputy chief of staff ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

Act Now to Stop Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme

Recently, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

"A Significant Indictment” of DOJ’s “Integrity"

In a move that stunned members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the chief of the ...

News  

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Issa cries foul after key player in Fast and Furious scandal refuses to testify

As Arizona state officials open their own probe into Operation Fast and Furious, the head of the House ...

Friday, January 20, 2012

Congressional Action Needed to Stop Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme

Last week, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that ...

News  

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

NRA and industry appeal rifle sales reporting rules

Gun dealers backed by the National Rifle Association, a powerful lobbying group, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation, ...

News  

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Judge rejects challenge to multiple sales reporting

Ruling in a suit brought by gun dealers and backed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation as well ...

Friday, January 13, 2012

Federal Court Upholds Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme; Congressional Action Needed

Moments before this alert was to go out, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling ...

News  

Friday, January 13, 2012

Another BATFE gun operation is under scrutiny

In the late summer of 2010, the ATF agent leading the failed Fast and Furious gun smuggling operation ...

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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.