U.S. Rep. Eric Burleson

Through the U.S. Department of Justice, the Biden Administration has weaponized the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), turning it into an agency constantly battling against America’s lawful gun owners and closely regulated gun retailers. In fact, during the past four years, Biden’s ATF has published several final rules, making laws when its real purpose is enforcing them.  

That hasn’t set well with many Republicans in Congress. And now that the Republicans have retained the House majority, retaken the Senate and won the presidency with former President Donald Trump’s recent victory, one pro-gun lawmaker is ready to do something about the ongoing “problem” with the ATF.

Last week, Republican U.S. Rep. Eric Burleson of Missouri announced that he would soon be introducing legislation to abolish the ATF—a move that many American gun owners have been seeking for years. The new legislation will mirror the “Abolish the ATF Act” filed last year, which sought to eliminate the federal agency over concerns that its rulemaking related to firearms amounts to “big government overreach.” 

“In January, I will be filing the bill that Matt Gaetz sponsored to abolish the ATF,” Burleson said in a video posted on X. “Why? Because we’re fighting for you.

“The ATF has been a disaster for the American people and our God-given Second Amendment rights. It should absolutely be abolished.”

In the bill introduced last year, which the new measure is expected to be nearly identical, simply stated: “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is hereby abolished.” It was assigned to the House Committee on the Judiciary but received no further action.  

In response to the announced legislation, ATF sent out a statement that did not address any of the actions that Burleson and others have mentioned as the measure’s impetus.

“ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day,” ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said in a statement emailed to Fox News.

Co-sponsors of the measure include Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mike Collins of Georgia, Bob Good of Virginia, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Mary Miller of Illinois, Cory Mills of Florida and Barry Moore of Alabama.

Over the past several months, U.S. House Republicans have taken a number of actions designed to overturn overreach by the DOJ and ATF during President Biden’s tenure. In October, a House committee subpoenaed the ATF and White House over collusion with anti-gun organizations, and in September, the House Judiciary Committee passed a joint resolution that would overturn the ATF’s ruling redefining who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms.

32 COMMENTS

    • Also fire the remaining 2 million federal government employees. Then maybe hire contractors with a 2 or 3 year time limit. And they can’t be rehired for at least one year.

    • The left doesn’t want to refund the DoD. They’re all in on MIC warhawk shenanigans. Sure, they want an armed forces made up of imported third worlders running on hormone blockers and party drugs to do the fighting but they still want the fighting done. Basically Charles Taylor in America.

      • “armed forces made up of imported third worlders running on hormone blockers and party drugs to do the fighting”……I could get onboard with this. Send them to ____________and let them charge the defenses of __________ until they are gone. The warhawks get their action and we get rid of much of our problem, win-win!

        • I like the idea of the sexually liberated at-h.ei’st doing all the fighting and dying for a change. Since they demanded to be able to serve.

          The christians can stop volunteering and instead, they can come back missing a leg or an arm. Or the sexually liberated can come back with their sex organs mutilated.

          Or they can just come back in a body bag.
          Since the sexually liberated demanded to be able to serve, openly, and serve the government.

          • btw
            There has never ever been an anti war movement in the USA.

            The anti-war crowd against the Vietnam War, was happy to support Clinton bombing Serbia. They were happy when Obama dropped more bombs, and bombed more countries, than Bush did.

            And Obama never got permission from the US Congress to do it.

    • We have enough nukes to destroy the planet 5 times over. Time to be realistic about budgets.

      Slash the DoD budget about 80% and announce to the world that the conventional units of our Army, Navy & Air Force will only be used for our own coastal and border defense. No More World’s Cop.

      And, announce that any attacks against the US anywhere will be responded to by our nuclear forces only. Be Warned. Think of all the money we will save. Might avoid the looming bankruptcy.

      • “have enough nukes to destroy the planet 5 times over” The KGI sophistry & stupidity of the 70s/80s just never ends dies it.

        Check your calendar. It’s not 1914 or 1938 – isolationism doesn”t work any more than marxism/socialism no matte how hard you click your heals together and wish.

  1. “ ‘ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day,’ ATF spokesperson Kristina Mastropasqua said in a statement emailed to Fox News.”

    Someone get a shovel and scoop that stuff up so Kristina doesn’t slip and fall on the Bull S**t

    • “No federal agency may employ any press or public relations or speechwriters. Or spend any funds for public relations or advertising except for military recruiting.”

  2. “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” The raison d’etre for the ATF is to infringe.

  3. How about introducing a bill to repeal the 1968 Gun Control Act , the 1934 National Firearms Act, the 2002 Safer Communities Act, the 1986 gun owners protection act and it’s Hughes Amendment?

    • This would be better. Not any more likely, but better. IIRC, it was the 1968 GCA that officially added “firearms” regulation to Alcohol and Tobacco’s portfolio of authority. Repealing these laws would eliminate all the enabling legislation, except for some tax related things from circa 1900, thus rendering AFT all but moot. Finish it off with the suggestions Publius noted below.

  4. Here’s how to abolish the ATF:

    Move the ATF non-management Special Agents into the USMS and fire most if not all of the Washington DC senior management and policy people.

    Merge what’s left of the ATF lab into the FBI (the Bureau already took over most of the high end investigations anyway). The FBI already does firearm tracing.

    Move the inspectors back to the Treasury (their previous department) and allow them to ONLY inspect and confirm that dealer documentation adheres to published regulations.

    The USMS will continue to do fugitive investigations, but add illegal firearm use/trafficking and violent gangs. It’s going to be mostly street-level investigations, which is where the USMS excels.

  5. The killing/murder of Bryan Malinowski in North Little Rock Arkansas is reason enough to abolish the ATF and hold the agents and their superiors accountable. POTG shoot someone breaking in their home and the enforcement people + D As will stoop to new lows to prosecute the home owner. The very definition of forked tongue speech and hypocrisy.
    ATF, et al, do as they please while ignoring ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ and illustrate clearly that the good American citizens be damned.

  6. How do we handle the previous role of the FFL, licensing, and manufacture of firearms, ammunition, explosives, etc? The GCA of ’68 is one specific issue, much less the continued ban on manufacture of publicaly available full auto.

    There are hurdles there that will cost political capital, our enemies will be notably resistant to change and along with many other announced changes – such as the complete elimination of the IRS – there’s going to be some recalcitrants – RINO’s will be specially manipulated by their handlers as a last ditch grasp on power.

    The lines of resistance by the deep State are already forming and it will get spicy.

    • The Bill to Abolish the ATF.

      “Here we go again, another bill to abolish the ATF. I know that you all get very excited anytime some piece of legislation is introduced that attempts this, but Washington Gun Law President, William Kirk, discusses what are the chances that this actually happens. Because all the bills in the world won’t change a thing unless one of them becomes a law.”

      h ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9skhDGAgUzM

  7. Dear SCOTUS: Percolation Tests Are For Septic Tanks, Not Second Amendment Infringements.

    h ttps://bearingarms.com/ranjit-singh/2024/11/26/dear-scotus-percolation-tests-are-for-septic-tanks-not-second-amendment-infringements-n1226995

  8. Republicans Announce Legislative Plans To Punish The Performance Of Child-Mutilating Transgender Surgeries.

    h ttps://thefederalist.com/2024/11/22/republicans-announce-legislative-plans-to-punish-the-performance-of-child-mutilating-transgender-surgeries/

  9. Funny, but last time I checked Alcohol, Tabacco and firearms are all legal to possess. I remember in the 1960’s and 1970’s I could order a firearm with a phone call and it was delivered to my door. We need people control, not gun control. It’s that simple.

  10. I was hit up by the RNC for more donations.
    I replied back to them if 15% of the Trump promises become true I will think about it.
    This is the first election I’ve ever donated money too but I swear, the want, want, want is as bad as the NRA.
    Missouri the Show Me State.

    • Achievable and realistic vs end game. They took our freedoms away piece by piece. We must be ready to take them back the same way until we can’t and other options are to be considered.

  11. “ATF provides enormous benefits to the American public through all of its efforts fighting violent crime every day,”
    Truth is, we already have other agencies to do that.
    We have other agencies to regulate alcohol (Ag), tobacco (Ag), firearms (2A, Congress), and explosives. We have other people to make the laws (Legislature) and people to enforce those laws (state, county and municipal police)
    We don’t need the ATF, all that money can be better spent elsewhere.

  12. Another 5 minutes of my life I won’t get back. Only Officer Bill & Nero seem to understand this. Getting rid of this cancerous agency doesn’t get rid of unconstitutional carcinogenic laws – NFA, Hugh’s Amendment, un Safer Communities, GCA of 1968.
    Not much heat or light here. This rep is from Missouri, I will call him.

  13. People, the black DOD budget is hidden on purpose;

    One day NSA gave civilian space agencies 3 Hubble space telescopes that used to be pointed at the Earth because they were “obsolete”. That means we have better ones now. Would you rather spend the time arguing with the Squad or spending the money on welfare and student loan repayment? No, we don’t because they’re stupid.

    Our secrets are what actually scares the wicked, my keyboard warriors…because we are the “aliens” and UFOs, the ones with robotic shuttles that visit their satellites, who smooths the waves to see beneath the waters, and stuff like that…

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