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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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News  

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Standing Guard: BATFE A "Fase and Furious" Scandal

With the shooting death of U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry in a remote Arizona canyon by armed ...

Hunting  

Thursday, June 9, 2011

NRA-Backed Bills Progress in Louisiana Legislature

Yesterday, the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice unanimously passed Senate Bill 39 by a voice vote, ...

News  

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Standing Guard: Clearing the Fog On Gun Smuggling

With the growing evidence of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' participation in a massive illegal ...

News  

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Power Grab

If you’re one of the nearly 71 million Americans who live in the four southwest border states, some ...

News  

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Project Gunrunner

As the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives continues to resist congressional demands that it explore its ...

News  

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

H.R. 420/S. 798, the "Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act”

H.R. 420/S. 798, the "Veterans' Heritage Firearms Act of 2011," introduced by U.S. Representative Dennis Rehberg (R-Mont.) in ...

News  

Thursday, April 7, 2011

House Reveals Corrupt Freedom of Information Process

A newly released congressional report blows the lid off the rampant FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) abuse at ...

News  

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

NO SURRENDER--The Firearms Owners Protection Act

Nearly a quarter century ago, the Firearms Owners` Protection Act was signed into law. Looking back, it seems ...

News  

Monday, June 7, 2010

Common Sense BATFE Reform Gathers Steam

With wide bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, H.R. 2296 and S. 941 could be historic victories ...

News  

Monday, June 7, 2010

Common Sense BATFE Reform Gathers Steam

With wide bipartisan support in both houses of Congress, H.R. 2296 and S. 941 could be historic victories ...

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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.