The ATF is a Rogue Agency

Today at RedState, Matt Funicello has an article claiming the The ATF Is a Rogue Agency That Needs to Be Abolished. He makes a pretty good case, which I urge gentle readers to read.

Funicello notes that the ATF has routinely violated the Constitution, and the Supreme Court's ruling that Congress is the only body Constitutionally permitted to make new law. Congress failing to act is acting. Whether or not a bureaucrat sees a need to act is not the issue. Congress obviously, either rightly or wrongly, has determined no action is needed.

There are a few problems with this, with the obvious one being the ATF continues to thumb its nose at the Supreme Court by continuing to enact its own rules and regulations regarding firearms without any congressional oversight. A perfect example of this would be the most recent rule proposed by the ATF, in cooperation with the Justice Department, when it comes to so-called "ghost guns." The ATF finalized their "Frame and Reciever" rule, which went into effect last August and changed the ATF's definition of what a firearm receiver is, along with requiring background checks and the application for serial numbers on all self-made firearms. The receiver rule essentially made it illegal for somebody to own what are known as "80 Percent lowers" for AR-style firearms without first applying for a serial number and submitting to a background check.

Another famous rule change was done in coordination with former President Donald Trump when he signed an executive order banning the manufacture, sale, and possession of what are known as "bump stocks." With the swipe of a pen, the Executive Branch of the Federal Government, coordinating with the ATF, enacted a rule change that changed the definition of a machine gun to include the classification of the stock as a machine gun. One man and one agency literally enacted a rule that defined a piece of plastic with only one moving part as a machine gun. Not one piece of legislation concerning the stocks or receivers was ever introduced, let alone passed by either the House or Senate.

Certainly, the ATF is a rogue agency, and needs to have its ears pinned back. Does it need to be abolished? I am of two minds on this. The first says that the ATF is the devil we know, and things could be worse. This argues for a serious purge and rebuilding the agency to install actual gun people who know what they are talking about. The second mind says that we don't need any of the Federal gun legislation; that it is all an infringement. No gun legislation means no "F" in ATF.

Please read, and decide for yourselves. I have to run to the range