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.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The most transparent administration in history suffered a defeat Monday, when U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson ...
Friday, September 27, 2013
Top agency officials launched a probe into the actions of ATF agents in the sting, after the Journal ...
Friday, September 6, 2013
On August 29, the White House announced what it claimed was a “common sense” executive action to “keep ...
Friday, August 30, 2013
More than a century ago, Congress established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and authorized ...
Friday, August 16, 2013
In Mexico, they have known for some time. Officials there have attributed more than 200 deaths to Fast ...
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Three more weapons from Fast and Furious have turned up at crime scenes in Mexico, CBS News has ...
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
A "straw purchase" case that goes before the Supreme Court in October will be an important test. When ...
Friday, August 2, 2013
Following in the well-worn footsteps of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and his Blueprint for Federal Action on ...
Friday, July 12, 2013
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to send President Obama's nominee to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, ...
Friday, July 12, 2013
Before we knew that the IRS was targeting conservative groups, what a mess the Obama administration would make ...
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