Congresswoman Lauren Boebert (R-CO) has introduced a bill to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) this year. The bill is in response to the past four years of the ATF circumventing Congress and undermining the Second Amendment by abusing its rulemaking powers.
HR 126 is just the latest effort by Republicans to get rid of the federal agency. The issue is that presidential administrations often use the ATF to make up rules that undermine gun rights. These rules effectively act as changes to the law, which is under the sole purview of Congress—not the Executive branch.
Under the Biden regime, the ATF implemented a rule that criminalized lawfully purchased AR-pistol stabilizer braces. Everyone who had legally bought one of those braces became a de facto felon overnight with that rule change.
The ATF also declared that 80% complete firearm frames are actual guns. That is patently dishonest. But the rule meant that gun hobbyists could no longer buy the frames without going through an FBI background check.
The agency also invented a new rule that you have to obtain a federal license to sell one of your own guns, even if it’s to a family member. It should go without saying that selling a .22 squirrel rifle to your nephew does not make you a firearms dealer. This was simply another effort by the ATF to keep track of all firearms in an illegal federal database.
Rules by federal agencies should not supersede the Bill of Rights or bills passed by Congress that have been signed into law. Republicans will control the House, Senate, and White House later this month. If they can finally abolish the ATF, it will be a great step toward restoring the constitutional rights of all Americans.
🚨 NEW: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert has filed legislation to abolish the ATF.
Do you support this?
Boebert railed against the ATF in the last Congress, saying the agency goes way too far in "rulemaking" authorities.
"We don't trust the ATF because of their overreaching… pic.twitter.com/SQcjxOlolh
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 6, 2025
