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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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Monday, February 13, 2012

Former DEA chief says 3 other federal agencies knew about Operation Fast and Furious

While criticism surrounding Operation Fast and Furious has so far focused on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and ...

News  

Friday, February 10, 2012

Sen. Grassley: Breuer violates DoJ policy in advocating for gunwalking

For over a year now I have been investigating Fast and Furious, an operation of the Bureau of ...

News  

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Holder tells Congress the Obama administration wants to ban guns

Last Thursday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to answer ...

News  

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Former Tucson DEA head: Holder either knew of gun walking, or was willfully unaware

Former Tucson Drug Enforcement Administration chief Tony Coulson told The Daily Caller that Attorney General Eric Holder either ...

News  

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Washington Post calls for more gun control laws, including a new semi-auto firearms ban, blames U.S. gun laws for Mexico violence and makes excuses for Eric Holder

Yet Fast and Furious was a well-intentioned, misguided response to — and not the cause of — the ...

News  

Friday, February 3, 2012

Holder Testifies on “Fast and Furious,” Calls for more gun control

On Thursday, February 2, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee ...

News  

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

More Fast and Furious questions for Attorney General Holder

Newly-released documents show that last February, on an official visit to Mexico, Justice Department official Lanny Breuer suggested ...

News  

Monday, January 30, 2012

DOJ dodges, won't say when Holder knew of border guard's death

A document the Department of Justice sent to Congress Friday shows that Eric Holder's deputy chief of staff ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

Act Now to Stop Obama/Holder Gun Registration Scheme

Recently, a federal district court in Washington, D.C. issued a ruling upholding an Obama administration policy that requires ...

Friday, January 27, 2012

"A Significant Indictment” of DOJ’s “Integrity"

In a move that stunned members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the chief of the ...

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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.