The ATF really could be our ally in a lot of ways. They could focus on violent criminals and their access to guns via illegal means, working to reduce much of what is termed “gun violence” and thus reducing the ability of anti-gunners to cite crime statistics as some kind of justification for more gun control.
Unfortunately, that’s never been what the ATF is about. Rather than crack down on criminals, they harass lawful gun dealers, take credit for local arrests, and when they do actually try to accomplish something, you get Waco at worst and Tate Adamiak as the best-case scenario, and that’s absolutely pathetic.
But these days, the future of the ATF is more than a little uncertain.
Over at America’s 1st Freedom, editor Frank Miniter talks a bit about the future of the agency.
When a federal agency becomes corrupted by politics, especially unconstitutional politics, something must be done. Government agencies are supposed to treat all citizens equally. A free people should not have to contend with federal agencies being weaponized against them.
Nevertheless, a few administrations have weaponized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) against our freedom.
The Obama administration’s Operation Fast and Furious gun-running scandal was perhaps the most shocking example of how far ATF leadership, as a sub-agency in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), was willing to go to get the gun control they desired.
Well, the Biden administration’s creation and use of an ATF zero-tolerance policy to put as many federal firearms licensees (FFLs) out of business as they could is a close second.
ATF attempts, under the Biden administration, to reinterpret or write gun-control laws, as if this agency has the power the U.S. Constitution grants the U.S. Congress, offers a series of egregious examples on the weaponization of this law-enforcement agency against citizens.
So then, what is the Trump administration now supposed to do with the ATF?
In a lot of ways, the Trump administration has already done more for the Second Amendment than any president I can recall. He’s made bold moves that have benefitted gun rights so far, which is a far cry from his first term, where he shepherded the bump stock ban into existence.
This is a very good thing. The fact that the Department of Justice is also investigating civil rights violations regarding the Second Amendment is also a good thing.
But when it comes to the ATF, there are issues with the direction the Trump administration seems interested in taking.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been publicly floating the idea of merging the ATF with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). This would likely require congressional approval, but the ATF has been beneath other agencies before—most notably, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Like the ATF, the DEA is also a sub-agency of the DOJ.
From a budgetary standpoint, it is easy to see how consolidating the ATF and DEA makes sense. But some worry that doing so could make the ATF even more powerful, and then, as a supercharged agency, it could be used by a future president with Joe Biden’s politics against American gun owners.
The DEA has a long history of abusing people’s civil liberties in the name of the War on Drugs. While it’s probably the one federal law enforcement agency not completely covered in controversy these days by one side or the other, the DEA’s history isn’t exactly a shining example of impartiality.
And yeah, while I’m pretty confident Trump wouldn’t misuse this “supercharged” agency against ordinary Americans, focusing on the cartels as has been suggested, Trump won’t be president forever. He’s not even getting another term without some major constitutional changes, which I just don’t see happening.
That means whoever follows would have the new DEA/ATF mix to do as they directed.
If that’s someone like JD Vance, then so be it. That wouldn’t be the end of the world by any stretch of the imagination. On the other hand, if it’s someone like Gavin Newsom, it would be.
So while the ATF definitely needs some serious reform, a merger with the DEA might not be the best direction possible. I’d favored a merger with the FBI, but as time has marched on, I have concerns there, too.
A better direction would be to just eliminate all the laws the ATF is supposed to enforce, then shutter the agency for good. Unfortunately, that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.
Damn it.
Editor’s Note: President Trump is leading America into the “Golden Age” as Democrats try desperately to stop it.
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