Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

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.

Issue Articles
SECTION
FROM
WITHIN
Sixth Circuit Bails-Out ATF

News  

Monday, December 6, 2021

Sixth Circuit Bails-Out ATF

Last week, the Sixth Circuit failed to achieve the majority necessary to correct the ATF’s shifting classifications of bump ...

Out-of-Business Dealer Records Prompt Concerns of Backdoor Gun Registry

News  

Tuesday, November 16, 2021

Out-of-Business Dealer Records Prompt Concerns of Backdoor Gun Registry

In recent weeks, Americans have rightly become concerned over a somewhat obscure ATF recordkeeping regulation that has a profound impact ...

Chipman Will Not Go Quietly

News  

Monday, October 4, 2021

Chipman Will Not Go Quietly

Disgraced Biden nominee to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, seems determined ...

Washington Examiner  

Monday, September 13, 2021

NRA victory over Biden’s ATF pick its biggest in a decade

When President Joe Biden picked gun control advocate David Chipman to run the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, ...

NRA Reacts to the Withdrawal of the David Chipman Nomination

News  

Thursday, September 9, 2021

NRA Reacts to the Withdrawal of the David Chipman Nomination

The NRA applauds the reported withdraw of David Chipman's nomination to head the ATF.

NRA Files Comments Opposing ATF’s “Stabilizing Brace” Proposed Rule

News  

Wednesday, September 8, 2021

NRA Files Comments Opposing ATF’s “Stabilizing Brace” Proposed Rule

As we’ve previously reported, the Biden Department of Justice is threatening to upend the U.S. firearm industry and ...

URGENT! September 8 Deadline Last Chance to Submit Comments on Proposed Rule for Stabilizing Braces

News  

Monday, September 6, 2021

URGENT! September 8 Deadline Last Chance to Submit Comments on Proposed Rule for Stabilizing Braces

In June, ATF published a new notice of proposed rulemaking on its website entitled Factoring Criteria for Firearms with Attached “Stabilizing ...

The Washington Times  

Thursday, August 19, 2021

House Republican Sounds Alarm on ATF’s Gun Control Moves

Rep. Richard Hudson, a staunch Second Amendment advocate, is sounding off on what he sees as a new, ...

NRA Files Comments on ATF’s “Frame or Receiver” Rule

News  

Thursday, August 19, 2021

NRA Files Comments on ATF’s “Frame or Receiver” Rule

As we’ve previously reported, the Biden Department of Justice is threatening to upend the U.S. firearm industry and ...

URGENT! Public Comments on ATF “Frame or Receiver” Rule Due by August 19

News  

Monday, August 16, 2021

URGENT! Public Comments on ATF “Frame or Receiver” Rule Due by August 19

The Biden Department of Justice is threatening to upend the U.S. firearm industry and how Americans exercise their ...

More Like This From Around The NRA

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.