Rep. Eric Burleson (R-Missouri) announced plans last week to revive and reintroduce former Rep. Matt Gaetz's Repeal of the ATF Act following his re-election to a second term in the upcoming Congress. Burlison said, “In January, I will be introducing the bill proposed by Matt Gaetz to repeal the ATF. … ATF has been a disaster for the American people and their God-given Second Amendment rights. Absolutely. It should be abolished.”
abolish NFA
Within days of being sworn into the House of Representatives in January 2023, Burleson made his true intentions clear. His first act was to introduce a bill to repeal the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934, which has allowed the ATF to operate consistently. and willfully violate the rights of Americans guaranteed by the Second Amendment.
Burlison said at the time:
For nearly a century, the federal government has used national firearms laws to violate the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens. The recent ATF pistol brace rule is just another example of a blatant attack on Americans' constitutional rights. The ATF-NFA disguise needs to end.
Repealing the NFA law would strip the ATF of its authority to criminalize lawful gun owners and undo nearly 90 years of attacks on fundamental freedoms. I am proud to stand with and support Americans across the country as we address this issue head-on.
Mr. Burlison received support from Congressman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).
For too long, anti-gun fanatics have enacted policies that violate Americans' Second Amendment rights. The NFA only increases government bureaucracy and does nothing to reduce gun violence.
I applaud Rep. Burleson's bill to prevent the federal government from continuing to impose these strict registration requirements on law-abiding gun owners.
New gun owners (22 million since the anti-gun Biden administration took over) will no doubt remember the ATF's overreach on pistol restraints, which courts struck down as unconstitutional. They cited ATF's efforts to expand the definition of “gun owner” in order to bring them all under ATF protection and subject them to ATF's ever-changing rules (including rule violations). will remind you of (The Fourth Amendment provides a right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.)
history
They may not remember, or have no reason to remember, the outrageous and outrageously violent past instigated by the ATF in its attack on Americans' gun rights.
Efforts to suppress these rights were so outrageous that in 1982 a Senate Judiciary Committee report issued the following report: It is constitutionally, legally and practically condemnable. ”
The Senate subsequently passed the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986, which ameliorated some of the ATF's more outrageous actions.
A quick look at the violent ATF attack on Randy Weaver's Ruby Ridge cabin in 1992, in which his wife was killed by an ATF sniper and the ATF subsequently reached a multi-million dollar settlement without admitting guilt. Readers interested in a thorough review should probably check out “The Siege of Ruby Ridge: The Forgotten History of the ATF Gunfight That Started a Militia Movement” here.
For more information about the ATF attack on the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas, a year later, see “Waco, the Big Lie” here.
out of control station
When Amy Swearer, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, addressed a House subcommittee in 2023, she reminded committee members:
The ATF tends to be at its worst when left unchecked by Congress.
ATF uses its vast and often unchecked regulatory powers to force elected officials to enact the agency's rule-making measures, which are precisely unreasonable and unconstitutional gun control measures that could not be accomplished through a democratic process. It tends to be achieved through….
Just last year, ATF, at the direction of the President (Biden), implemented a zero-tolerance policy for violations by federal firearms licensees, and the number of licenses the agency revokes has increased dramatically.
The agency worked with FFLs (Federal Firearms License Holders) to ensure compliance with vast amounts of federal firearms laws, and went from thinking of itself as a partner to becoming an adversary almost overnight. (emphasis added).
The new policy assumes that most violations, even first-time violations, will merit license revocation unless there are special circumstances. Zero tolerance policies are often applied to situations that are essentially clerical or clerical errors and do not result in actual harm.
And this is especially ironic considering the ATF's tendency to be sloppy with its own firearms and records, which has sometimes resulted in real harm…
The ATF also warned millions of American gun owners that, despite ATF's decade-long assurances to the contrary, their pistol-fastened firearms are in fact heavily regulated short-barreled firearms. rifles, and if these gun owners wish to retain their pistol-loaded firearms without immediate regulation. If they are branded a felon, they must register each gun with the government and pay a gun tax of $200 per gun.
If you don't, ATF will come get your gun!
You asked us today when is enough enough? Oh Lord, how long will the ATF continue to be the worst at the expense of peaceful American citizens?
With all due respect, the Constitution provides a clear answer. Enough is enough and it will continue unless something stops.
Reinstating, reintroducing, and passing Gaetz's “Repeal the ATF Act” would be a good start.
