Multiple sources, including sources from ATF, DOJ and Congressional offices have said there is a white paper circulating within the Department of Justice, outlining the essential elimination of ATF. According to sources, the paper outlines the firing of at least 450 ATF agents in an effort to conduct damage control as Operation Fast and Furious gets uglier and as election day 2012 gets closer. ATF agents wouldn’t be reassigned to other positions, just simply let go. Current duties of ATF, including the enforcement of explosives and gun laws, would be transferred to other agencies, possibly the FBI and the DEA. According to a congressional source, there have been rumblings about the elimination of ATF for quite sometime, but the move would require major political capital to actually happen.
I wonder then how things like SBR and stuff would be regulated if they would use that as a time to really crack down on things ? and change the laws drastically the way they want them to be ?
I am all for good bye ATF and let honest citizens have what they want but can see them USING this for something else ?
Isn’t the licensing of the FFLs a tax issue also? Would that mean everything outside of the criminal investigation stuff, such as when they went after the Hell’s Angels for illegal arms smuggling, would become the IRS’ duty?
This is why I’m neither holding my breath nor am I going to celebrate if this occurs. IMHO, this may be an end run on the Second Amendment because the ATF already maintains a huge number of records that any administration can misuse if there wasn’t any regulations that govern its accessibility.
If the obamists were to disband the ATF, who gets those records and what limitations will they have in terms of its use? What are the chances that the current POTUS will use his executive powers and reflag the ATF under a different name and re-task them to do things that may be counter to our Constitution?
He’s already used Executive Orders to contradict decisions and regulations passed or approved by both the Legislative and Judiciary Offices. I fear that this may just be another end run in his attempts to increase his authority beyond what it should be. JM2CW.
Possibly, and he’s also getting his SC Justices in place as well.
If it happens, you can count on things being worse afterwards for the average citizen. Licenses, fees, taxes, paper work. That’s pretty typical when the government “improves it’s system”.
We should be careful what we wish for. BATFE’s problem has always been one of civil regulatory enforcement vs. criminal enforcement. Turning over these functions to other agencies invites additional abuses. I’d rather see all LE duties reassigned to the FBI and the regulatory portion remain as a separate entity. Most violations of firearms laws should be a regulatory matter, not criminal.
This is how some of the other federal agencies handle things. As a regulatory inspector within DHS, I handle civil cases. If one of my investigations uncovers a possible federal crime under 18 USC, I call an FBI agent to review the case. Sometimes we work cases concurrently on both the civil and criminal sides. This system works pretty well and there’s a significantly lower likelihood of abuses.
Simply eliminating BATFE without revising the criminal and civil codes will not make things better. It may in fact make things worse.
Right now, the BATFE is the proverbial “devil we know”. If it’s disbanded, and it’s duties assigned to other agencies (like NFA), I’m not so sure the IRS handling it would be an improvement. What’s stopping them from raising the $200 tax stamp to say… $2,000 per item?
Yeah, I remember us setting up the tables for that party back in 1981 or so when it looked like Reagan was gonna trim them from the budget. If it didn’t happen then, I don’t see it ever happening.
I think rumors of a shutdown are nothing more than rumors designed to make the average citizen feel as though they are taking this very seriously while they in fact continue to do nothing.
