Abolish the ATF

[Jackpine Savage]

Someone made the point that even if the ATF is disbanded, the laws they enforce will still be on the books. Enforcement will just be assigned to some other agency. Better to get rid of the laws that are problematic, like the NFA. Congress also needs to take abusive regulatory power away from all government agencies.

As far as getting rid of bureaucrats, I recently read that the USDA lost half of their employees when they moved some offices to Kansas City. Maybe the ATF should be moved to rural North or South Dakota.

[xd ED]

Someone made the point that even if the ATF is disbanded, the laws they enforce will still be on the books. Enforcement will just be assigned to some other agency. Better to get rid of the laws that are problematic, like the NFA. Congress also needs to take abusive regulatory power away from all government agencies.

As far as getting rid of bureaucrats, I recently read that the USDA lost half of their employees when they moved some offices to Kansas City. Maybe the ATF should be moved to rural North or South Dakota.

I can't remember who it was that made the suggestion, but in a radio discussion about the politicization/ weaponization of the fbi, irs, atf abc, def, ghi, etc,that these federal LE agencies be disarmed, and limited to investigative work, and any armed law enforcement action be requested of local Sheriffs.
Pretty radical, and impossible to consider all the ramifications, and unintended consequences, but operating in such a manner would have likely eliminated some of the more notorious, violent blunders we've seen...

[Jackpine Savage]

That sounds like a good idea to me!

[jdege]

A BILL - To abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. Short title.

This Act may be cited as the “Abolish the ATF Act”.

SEC. 2. Abolishment of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is hereby abolished.

[Lumpy]

Realistically there would have to be a Section Three reassigning or abolishing the federal laws the BATFE currently enforces, as mentioned upthread. But yeah I don't see why the IRS or Treasury can't handle the tax collection parts and the FBI the law enforcement parts; both agencies have their flaws but they don't have the built-in institutional baggage the BATFE does.