A pair of Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Reps. Eric Burlison of Missouri and Lauren Boebert of Colorado, members of the Second Amendment Caucus, introduced the Abolish the ATF Act “to safeguard Americans’ Second Amendment rights and protect law-abiding gun owners from the relentless bureaucratic overreach of the ATF.”
“If this agency cannot uphold its duty to serve the people within the framework of the Constitution, it has no place in our government,” Mr. Burlison said.
Ms. Boebert said she cannot “imagine under any circumstance or administration where the ATF serves as an ally to the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearm owners across America.”
She said the “ATF should be abolished before they eventually abolish our Second Amendment.”
The legislation was proposed just days after ATF Director Steven Dettelbach confirmed his plans to resign before President-elect Donald Trump retakes office on Jan. 20.
Conservatives have been at odds with the ATF over the past four years on issues ranging from the agency’s regulations on pistol braces to its massive routine revoking of Federal Firearms licenses of gun dealers across the country for clerical errors made in paperwork of gun transactions.
Additionally, both Republicans cite a trail of “destruction and unnecessary deaths” left by the ATF, from Waco to Ruby Ridge and Operation Fast and Furious.
Co-sponsors of the bill include Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Mike Collins of Georgia, Bob Onder of Missouri, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, Mary Miller of Illinois, Keith Self of Texas and Paul Gosar of Arizona.
Mr. Burlison is also introducing legislation to repeal the 1934 National Firearms Act, which taxes, registers, and restricts gun owners.
Last Thursday, the ATF told The Reload, a firearms and Second Amendment publication, that Mr. Dettelbach submitted his resignation to President Biden, effective Jan. 18.
The agency did not say who would take Mr. Dettelbach’s place in the meantime, but said his resignation is a normal part of the transition between presidential administrations.
Mr. Dettelbach wrote in his resignation letter to Mr. Biden, “It was the honor of my professional career to serve at ATF in your administration.”
“As I leave ATF, the country has experienced two years of historic decreases in the violent crime rates, including drops in firearms related crime,” he wrote. “That progress did not occur by accident. The heroic, talented and hard-working people at ATF, along with our many partners, fought hard and risked everything to gain that ground. And Americans are better off for it.”
Second Amendment activists rebuffed that depiction of Mr. Dettelbach’s tenure at the ATF.
Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, said that Mr. Dettelbach is “one less person Mr. Trump will have to fire after he takes office.”
• Kerry Picket can be reached at kpicket@washingtontimes.com.