NRA-ILA 3/28/2022
Pro-Gun Members of Congress Demand Answers from ATF on Mass Suppressor Application Denials
Recently, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) – under the direction of Joe Biden and Merrick Garland – has been on a tear of upsetting settled understandings and changing enforcement policies. But pro-gun members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives have taken note and are now demanding answers of their own.
Gun owners by now are used to the drill, although it never gets more justifiable or legitimate. An anti-gun White House and attorney general assume control, and suddenly years of practice, precedent, and agreed meaning go out the window at ATF.
Even though the words of statutes and – in some cases, regulations – haven’t changed, things that were understood to be legal are suddenly declared illegal.
And gun owners and industry members who in good faith are trying to comply with the law while exercising their rights or earning their livings suddenly find themselves threatened with criminal penalties for actions they’ve taken openly for years without any suggestion of wrongdoing. Sometimes the actions have even been expressly approved by ATF’s own prior statements or rulings.
Fortunately, numerous senators and members of Congress have demanded ATF answer for this unilateral, persecutory, and unbeneficial reimagining of unchanged law.
Under the leadership of Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), 25 senators wrote a letter dated March 16 to Acting ATF Director Marvin Richardson, criticizing the move and asking a series of questions to gain perspective, understanding, and background about it.
A similar letter dated March 18 was signed by 142 members of Congress under the leadership of Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security, within the Judiciary Committee.
The House letter strongly condemned ATF’s actions, characterizing them as a continuation of “the Biden Administration’s assault on Americans’ Second Amendment rights.” It also warned they were “contrary to years of ATF precedent and beyond the scope of the agency’s authority under federal law.” The letter contained a detailed explanation of how ATF has created a Catch-22 that puts applicants in the position of potentially disclosing what ATF declares illegal activity, simply by attempting to comply with the application process.
More:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20220328/pro-gun-members-of-congress-demand-answers-from-atf-on-mass-suppressor-application-denials
