Posts Tagged ATF

Judge Says ARs Are Not Firearms In Dissent

From US v. Burning Breast:

The relevant evidence in this case came from one ATF expert witness. His testimony was based on ATF records that traced one serialized part on Burning Breast’s gun: the lower receiver. [..] Given these facts, there are two ways the Government could get a conviction. First, it could have proven that the lower receiver found on Burning Breast’s gun is a “receiver,” and so a “firearm” as a matter of law. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3)(B). Thatwas what the ATF agent repeatedly told the jury, and that was the Government’s theory at trial. [..] There is just one problem: an AR-15’s lower receiver does not meet the Government’s own definition of a “receiver.”

To be a “receiver,” ATF regulations require the part to “provide housing for the hammer, bolt or breechblock, and firing mechanism.” [..] That means an AR-15 lower receiver is not a “firearm,” and the Government’s theory at trial was a non-starter.

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Chipman Wrong For The ATF

From National Review:

Chipman is an activist, but the ATF needs an administrator. Chipman would raise the temperature of the gun-control debate, when precisely the opposite is needed. Chipman has shown poor judgment — from engaging in racially tinged office politics to allowing himself to be used as an instrument of public relations by a Beijing-run propaganda program — and the ATF, of all federal agencies, has had more than enough of poor judgment over the years.

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Impeachment Drafted Against Potential ATF Director Chipman

From The Truth About Guns:

Republican in the House, however, are preparing in case the worst happens. They’ve drawn up a preemptive impeachment resolution should Senate Democrats manage to drag Chipman over the confirmation line.

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The Coming FFL Crackdown

From NRA-ILA:

According to the president and his ever-obliging attorney general, a “crackdown” is coming on America’s federally licensed gun dealers (FFLs), with “zero tolerance” for allegedly illegal behavior. While no decent person – least of all the NRA or its members – supports arming dangerous criminals, a recent case from Texas provides disturbing hints as to what this policy might look like in practice.

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Biden Targets FFLs

From The Truth About Guns:

The Justice Department will announce a new “zero tolerance” policy to revoke the federal licenses of firearms dealers who willfully violate gun laws, senior administration officials said. That includes actions such as selling a gun to someone who is prohibited from possessing one, failing to do a background check on gun purchasers or falsifying records.

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Guns.com Staff Tries To Determine If Their Guns Are Legal Based On New ATF “Rules”

From Guns.com:

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Rep. Greene Introduces Bill To Abolish ATF

From The Washington Examiner:

The legislation would rescind all ATF regulations put in place after Aug. 1, 2020, forbid the government body from hiring, and require top authorities to publicize an itemized list of all confiscated firearms and ammunition, which will then be auctioned to the public, according to a copy of the bill, the Daily Caller reported. The proposal would also transfer the bureau’s regulatory power to the FBI.

The move has been named the Brian A. Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act in remembrance of Terry, a former Marine and Border Patrol agent who was shot and killed by criminals during a controversial sting operation, dubbed “Fast and Furious,” during which ATF authorities permitted illegal gun sales to track suspected purchasers in Mexican drug cartels.

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Pistol Braces And The Heller Case

From The Federalist:

However, as explained hereHeller erred in at least two respects. First, it misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s decision in U.S. v. Miller (1939). Miller indicated that the right to keep and bear arms includes all arms that “have some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well-regulated militia,” such as those that are “part of the ordinary military equipment” and any others the use of which “could contribute to the common defense.”

Miller also noted that militiamen were historically “expected to appear bearing arms supplied by themselves and of the kind in common use at the time,” so Heller ignored the discussion of military and militia arms and instead concluded that Miller limited the right to arms to those “in common use.”

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ATF’s Backdoor Gun Ban

From Cam and Company:

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Time To Remove SBRs From The NFA

From The Truth About Guns:

As the Biden administration gears up to pass fresh guidance on pistol stabilizing braces, I humbly suggest that this is precisely the time to get working on legislation to remove SBRs — short barreled rifles — from the purview of the 1934 National Firearms Act.

Arguments and assertions from the DOJ / ATF / Biden administration related to pistol braces only strengthen the case that SBRs shouldn’t be subject to special scrutiny as compared to rifles with 16-inch or longer barrels.

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FPC Attacks ATF Rule As Unlawful

From Firearms Policy Center:

Today, the Department of Justice officially released a notice of proposed rulemaking announcing a new ATF rule which would, among other attacks on firearm owners, builders, and dealers, redefine the terms “receiver” and “frame.” FPC previously issued a statement regarding a leaked, draft version of the new rule in mid-April. The full text of the new rule can be found here.

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DOJ Uses “Ghost Guns” As A Scapegoat For More Gun Control

From Cam and Company:

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Oppose ATF Nominee At All Costs

From Bearing Arms:

Chipman is squarely in the “ban and arrest our way to safety” camp, as evidenced by comments he made in an “Ask Me Anything” thread on Reddit last year. Chipman was up front about the fact that he believes it should be a crime for anyone to sell a gun without going through a commercial firearms dealer, arguing that even opening up the NICS system to allow private sellers access isn’t enough.

In that same Reddit threat, Chipman also said that he believes that, of all the current gun laws out there, one that needs greater enforcement is against those who “carry a gun illegally.” While many folks may nod their head in agreement, as reporters like Emily Bazelon of Slate have pointed out, places with the type of restrictive carry laws that Chipman embraces are arresting and convicting a disproportionate number of young black men for the non-violent, possessory offense. As Bazelon wrote in 2019:

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ATF Looking To Change Definition Of Gun

From Breitbart:

According to the Wall Street Journal, the ATF is framing the scenario as an expansion of what can be categorized as a “firearm,” a move that “could subject ghost guns to the same regulations as other firearms.”

The ATF’s April Langwell defended the agency’s look into new regulations for such guns, saying, “ATF routinely meets with our regulated industry participants to discuss matters of mutual concern. One of those meetings is scheduled for this week, and ATF looks forward to continuing this important dialogue.”

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Court Rules Bump Stocks Are Not Machine Guns

From Guns.com:

The Circuit, which controls Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, handed down a 60-page opinion in the case of Gun Owners of America, Inc. v. Merrick B. Garland this week. The crux of the issue to the court was that the ATF – effectively part of the executive branch of government – enforces laws rather than makes them, with that authority reserved for the people acting through their elected representatives in Congress.

“Congress could amend the statute tomorrow to criminalize bump-stock ownership, if it so wished,” said Judge Alice M. Batchelder for the majority, which was joined by Judge Eric E. Murphy. “But as judges, we cannot amend [the statute]. And neither can ATF. This is because the separation of powers requires that any legislation pass through the legislature, no matter how well-intentioned or widely supported the policy might be.”

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