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.
Monday, August 29, 2022
When we say “brace yourself,” we’re not kidding. The pistol brace rule is coming as well. But first, ...
Monday, August 8, 2022
While most of the attention from the end of the United States Supreme Court’s last term focused on ...
Monday, August 1, 2022
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives appears to understand that it has an image problem. According ...
Monday, May 23, 2022
On May 17, the Department of Justice announced the release of a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives publication ...
Monday, May 2, 2022
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from humiliated Biden nominee David Chipman. That is, of course, a ...
Monday, April 18, 2022
On April 11, the Biden Administration announced the finalization of a new firearm rule, and a new nominee to head ...
Monday, April 11, 2022
Today, the Biden Administration announced the nomination of Steven Dettelbach as the Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, ...
Monday, April 4, 2022
On March 22nd, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) released an open letter on “forced reset triggers” ...
Monday, March 28, 2022
Recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – under the direction of Joe Biden and ...
Wednesday, March 16, 2022
At the direction of the Biden administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) appears to ...
More Like This From Around The NRA
