House Republicans Propose Legislation to Abolish the ATF
A group of House Republicans has introduced a bill aiming to eliminate the ATF, citing Second Amendment rights and bureaucratic overreach.
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Washington: Recently, some House Republicans have been on a roll with their plans to cut funding for government agencies they don’t like. It’s kind of wild! They’ve even tried to defund the FBI and the IRS.
And it doesn’t stop there. There were also talks about defunding the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department. A couple of years back, one congressman even suggested cutting the Food and Drug Administration. Can you believe that?
Now, they’ve set their sights on the ATF, which stands for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Instead of just wanting to cut its budget, some GOP members want to get rid of the agency entirely. The Washington Times reported that two Republican lawmakers, Eric Burlison from Missouri and Lauren Boebert from Colorado, introduced the ‘Abolish the ATF Act’ to protect Second Amendment rights.
They’re not alone in this. Seven other Republicans are backing the bill, including folks from Arizona, Georgia, and Texas. Boebert even said the ATF should be abolished before they take away our Second Amendment rights. But let’s be real, the ATF isn’t trying to abolish any laws.
Now, don’t get your hopes up. This bill probably won’t go anywhere. Getting rid of a federal agency is no small feat, and even if the House GOP leaders were interested, the Senate Democrats would likely block it.
It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, though. For years, many Republicans have said we don’t need new gun laws; we just need to enforce the ones we have. But now, it seems like some want to get rid of the agency that helps enforce those laws.
As for the ATF, the current director, Steven Dettelbach, is stepping down soon. It’ll be interesting to see who the next Republican president picks to lead the agency, especially since past nominees have faced a lot of opposition.
Dettelbach recently expressed his worries about the GOP cutting the ATF’s budget, saying that if they succeed in abolishing it, “people would be killed.” That’s a pretty serious statement!
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com.