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, March 13, 2019
On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) unabashedly embraced the tactics behind one of the most shameful policies ...
Friday, December 21, 2018
This week, the Department of Justice announced that it would soon be releasing a final rule classifying “bump-stock-type-devices” ...
Tuesday, October 30, 2018
David Chipman, a retired Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agent, on Monday said AR-15 rifles ...
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
An appeals court on Tuesday upheld the firearms convictions against two Kansas men who mistakenly believed that a ...
Friday, September 14, 2018
A twist on an inaccurate old anti-gun talking point is making the rounds on social media. On September ...
Thursday, June 14, 2018
What's a politician to do when it's clear that people will vigorously resist attempts to restrict their lives? ...
Tuesday, June 5, 2018
Federal law prohibits the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from creating an electronic, accessible database of ...
Monday, May 14, 2018
Gun control advocates are hailing New Jersey’s release of near-real-time firearms trafficking data as a trailblazing use of ...
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
Gun control advocates have called for prohibiting possession of AR-15 rifles — a ban that could create five ...
Friday, March 2, 2018
The number of Form 4 applications received by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) in ...