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.
Friday, April 9, 2021
During a press conference on Thursday, President Biden announced that he would once again be targeting law-abiding gun ...
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
On December 23rd, ATF posted a document to its website indicating that its recently published Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with ...
Sunday, December 20, 2020
On December 17th, ATF posted Objective Factors for Classifying Weapons with “Stabilizing Braces” for public inspection on the Federal Register. ...
Thursday, December 17, 2020
By completely changing course on earlier decisions, BATFE has signaled that it is ready and eager to collaborate with Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and other gun ...
Wednesday, December 16, 2020
On December 10, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives raided Dayton, Nev.-based Polymer80. The company manufactures ...
Monday, November 16, 2020
Just in case anyone needed further proof that much of the federal bureaucracy is more interested in serving ...
Monday, November 2, 2020
Rogue elements of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) are continuing their assault on certain ...
Monday, October 12, 2020
As we reported last week, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) recently informed firearm manufacturer Q, ...
Tuesday, October 6, 2020
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) recently informed firearm manufacturer Q, LLC that, in ATF’s view, Q’s ...
Monday, September 14, 2020
Early this month, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) released two new procedure documents.
More Like This From Around The NRA
