Biden 'usurping' legislative authority: Congress unloads for rewriting gun laws

[Elderberry]

WND By Bob Unruh 8/10/2021

ATF changed definitions of guns to make prosecutions easier

Several members of Congress have written to Marvin Richardson, the acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, charging the department is usurping the authority of Congress to write laws.

The letter, signed by U.S. Reps. Andy Biggs, Jim Jordan, Louie Gohmert, W. Gregory Steube, Tom Tiffany, Victoria Spartz, Scott Fitzgerald and Burgess Owens, cites the agency's abrupt and radical redefinition that it wants to use to crack down on Second Amendment rights.

The ATF, in fact, published in the Federal Register its "Definition of 'Frame or Receiver' and Identification of Firearms" plan that would "expand the definitions of several terms associated with firearms because the current regulations allegedly fail to capture the full meaning…"

More: https://www.wnd.com/2021/08/biden-usurping-legislative-authority-congress-unloads-rewriting-gun-laws/

[Elderberry]

ATF usurped Congress with new "ghost" gun rule, says letter from Judiciary subcommittee Republicans

Just the News By Natalia Mittelstadt 8/10/2021

https://justthenews.com/government/federal-agencies/atf-usurped-congress-new-gun-rule-says-letter-judiciary-crime?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators

Republicans on the House Judiciary Crime Subcommittee sent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) a letter requesting the agency "abandon" a proposed gun rule that expands the definition of a firearm beyond what Congress intended.

The proposed ATF rule "is deeply flawed, beyond the scope of ATF's authority, contrary to years of previous ATF opinions, and harmful to millions of law-abiding American firearm owners," the letter reads.

On May 21, ATF published the proposed rule, the "Definition of 'Frame or Receiver' and Identification of Firearms," in the Federal Register, saying its purpose is "to provide new regulatory definitions of 'firearm frame or receiver' and 'frame or receiver' because the current regulations fail to capture the full meaning of those terms."

More at link.

[massadvj]

Soon the ATF will define this as a firearm.  Too dangerous for common folk to use and understand because it threatens central authority.

[Elderberry]

https://republicans-judiciary.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/2021-08-10-GOP-Crime-to-ATF-re-Frame-or-Receiver-Proposed-Rule.pdf

ATF’s proposed rule goes well beyond the authority granted to the agency in any applicable federal statutes. The proposed rule would expand the definition of “frame or receiver” to include any part of a firearm that can house even one mechanism of the firing process.3 ATF concedes that its “new definition would more broadly define the term ‘frame or receiver’ than the current definition.”4 Moreover, ATF expands the definition of a firearm beyond the intent of Congress in the proposed rule.  The ATF includes “a weapon parts kit that is designed to or may readily be assembled, completed, converted, or restored.”5 However, the GCA defines a firearm as: 

A) any weapon (including a starter gun) which will or is designed to or may readily be converted to expel a projectile by the action of an explosive;

(B) the frame or receiver of any such weapon

When passing the GCA,  Congress did not include “weapon parts kit” and the ATF took it upon itself to include assembled and completed where Congress explicitly left those actions out of the governing statute. In fact, ATF seeks to unilaterally insert a new definition using language from the Federal Firearms Act (FFA) of 1938,7 which Congress affirmatively repealed in the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA).8 ATF attempts to resurrect the FFA’s language through its new regulatory definition of “the frame or receiver” so that a single weapon might be comprised of multiple “frames” and “receivers.”9 Any of these “parts” in ATF’s interpretation would be considered a firearm so long as the Director decreed any “specific part or parts of a weapon is the frame or receiver.”10 By doing so, ATF disregards its controlling statutory language in the GCA and ignores Congress’s clear legislative intent in repealing the FFA

ATF’s rule appears to be a deliberate attempt to usurp the authority of Congress. In so doing, ATF has also unconstitutionally infringed on American citizens’ fundamental Second Amendment rights and privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment. We strongly urge ATF to abandon its proposed rule issued on May 21, 2021, entitled, “Definition of ‘Frame or Receiver’ and Identification of Firearms.” In addition, to better understand ATF’s reasons for issuing the proposed rule, we request that you provide the following information:

1.Please explain when ATF first began to conceive of the need to broaden the definition of “frame or receiver” and the identification of firearms through an agency notice.

2.Please explain why ATF believes it is “necessary to trace all firearms” and how “tracing all firearms” is consistent with the Gun Control Act of 1968 and the National Firearms Act.

3.Please identify the offices within ATF that conceived, drafted, reviewed, and approved the May 21, 2021 notice.

4.Please explain whether the Justice Department reviewed and approved ATF’s May 21, 2021 notice, including the entities involved in the review and the timing of the review.

5.Please explain whether the Office of Management and Budget reviewed and approved ATF’s May 21, 2021 notice, including the entities involved in the review and the timing of the review.

We ask that you provide this information as soon as possible but no later than 5:00 p.m. on August 17, 2021. The House Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction over criminal law and federaladministrative procedure pursuant to House Rule X. If you have any questions about these requests, please contact Committee staff at (202) 225-6906. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

[240B]

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