Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives are planning to introduce legislation to abolish the controversial Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF), ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
According to Fox News, Congressman Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) will introduce the bill, which has earned several prominent co-sponsors, including: Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Mike Collins (R-Ga.), Bob Onder (R-Mo.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), Mary Miller (R-Ill.), Keith Self (R-Texas), and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).
In a statement announcing the legislation, Congressman Burlison denounced the ATF as an “unconstitutional agency.”
“The Constitution makes it very clear that when it comes to the federal government, there shall be no laws restricting firearms,” said Burlison in an interview with Fox News Digital. “It’s in the purview of the states, and so I don’t think it belongs on the federal level.”
“But here’s the thing I want to reiterate – they don’t have the manpower to enforce the laws that they implement,” Burlison added. “So they go and they solicit help from every local state law enforcement official to help them implement their stupid new rules.”
The idea of abolishing the ATF, which has long been the cause of mass suppression of Americans’ Second Amendment rights, has earned the support of Vice President-elect J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), who previously supported such a move during his time in the Senate. Although President-elect Trump has not yet weighed in on the notion, he has expressed his support for abolishing several federal agencies in his second term, including the Department of Education.
Although Burlison admitted that he has not yet communicated with members of President-elect Trump’s team regarding this bill, he noted that “I’m sure there’s quite a few people in Trump world that would be open to this.”
The ATF has been plagued with scandal over its decades-long history, stemming from its use of too much force in dealing with gun-owning Americans. Most infamously, the agency was widely blamed for its poor handling of the standoffs at Ruby Ridge, Idaho in 1992, and in Waco, Texas in 1993. The Ruby Ridge incident led to the deaths of Vicki Weaver, her 14-year-old son Samuel, and their family dog. The Waco disaster ended with the deaths of 82 Americans who burned to death when their compound caught fire under mysterious circumstances in the midst of the ATF’s siege.
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