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Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) reintroduced legislation this week to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and incorporate the agency’s duties into other departments. The senior Judiciary Committee member said its high-profile failures, both past and present, show that “the ATF is a scandal-ridden, largely duplicative agency that lacks a clear mission.
“Its ‘Framework’ is an affront to the Second Amendment and yet another reason why Congress should pass the ATF Elimination Act,” Sensenbrenner said in a statement, according to The Hill.
The bill to abolish the ATF would transfer the agency’s gun, explosives, and violent crime operations to the FBI. Alcohol and tobacco regulation duties would fall under the Drug Enforcement Administration’s jurisdiction. Sensenbrenner said when introduced the bill in September during the previous Congress that the agency “is plagued by backlogs, funding gaps, hiring challenges and a lack of leadership.”
The call to eliminate the ATF follows the agency’s proposed ban on an armor-piercing bullets used in AR-15 semi-automatic rifles. Last month, the ATF proposed new rules banning the manufacture or sale of these bullets, including 5.56 mm ammo, which is currently allowed for sporting purposes and is one of the most-used AR bullets by sportsmen and target shooters.
Although the ATF moved to ban the AR’s 5.56 mm ammo to protect police officers who wear bullet-proof vests, it is not clear that the bullet poses a threat to law enforcement.
“Any ammunition is of concern to police in the wrong hands, but this specific round has historically not posed a law enforcement problem,” said James Pasco, executive director of the Washington office of the Fraternal Order of Police, the world’s largest organization of sworn law enforcement officers.
Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) introduced legislation at the end of February to block the Obama administration’s move which, according to Rooney, “would unilaterally strip law-abiding hunters and sportsmen of their Second Amendment rights.”
