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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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ATF Reinterprets the Term “Machinegun,” Again

News  

Monday, April 4, 2022

ATF Reinterprets the Term “Machinegun,” Again

On March 22nd, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) released an open letter on “forced reset triggers” ...

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Demand Answers from ATF on Mass Suppressor Application Denials

News  

Monday, March 28, 2022

Pro-Gun Members of Congress Demand Answers from ATF on Mass Suppressor Application Denials

Recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – under the direction of Joe Biden and ...

ATF Targeting FFLs for License Revocation

News  

Wednesday, March 16, 2022

ATF Targeting FFLs for License Revocation

At the direction of the Biden administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) appears to ...

Recent ATF Action Shows Need for Suppressor Reform

News  

Monday, March 14, 2022

Recent ATF Action Shows Need for Suppressor Reform

As we reported last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) denied approximately 850 Form ...

ATF Mass Denial of Suppressor Form 1 Applications

News  

Monday, March 7, 2022

ATF Mass Denial of Suppressor Form 1 Applications

On February 28, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) denied approximately 850 Form 1 applications ...

Growing ATF Database Prompts Fears of Gun Registry

News  

Monday, February 7, 2022

Growing ATF Database Prompts Fears of Gun Registry

Gun owners were understandably concerned to learn this week that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives ...

Gun Control Group Hopes to Smear U.S. Firearms Industry with New Website

News  

Monday, January 24, 2022

Gun Control Group Hopes to Smear U.S. Firearms Industry with New Website

We all knew who the finger-pointers and tattletales were in junior high school. A disproportionate number of them, ...

Biden Administration Finalizes “New” Firearm Storage Rule

News  

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Biden Administration Finalizes “New” Firearm Storage Rule

On January 3, the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would be finalizing a new rule on firearm storage ...

What You Need to Know about ATF’s New eForms System

News  

Monday, January 10, 2022

What You Need to Know about ATF’s New eForms System

On December 23, ATF launched a new system for applicants to complete various forms that ATF is responsible ...

Tracing Spurious Claims

News  

Monday, December 20, 2021

Tracing Spurious Claims

Since leading anti-gun researchers acknowledged no connection between the 2020 surge in firearms sales and violence, unscrupulous anti-gun ...

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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.