Staff Reports
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is making a fuss about needing more money, people, and fancy gadgets to deal with gun trafficking. They released a report asking for these things, and they’re also talking about pushing for Universal Background Checks. The report claimed that the ATF is struggling with old-fashioned databases and not enough staff to track guns from where they were first sold to when they show up at crime scenes. But some folks who really love the Second Amendment are saying, “Hold on a minute there, ATF!”
ATF Wants Funding for Data Analysts to Gather Gun Trace Information
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives makes case for increased funding, data analysts in its recently released firearms trace data report.https://t.co/JK9694Zlfv
— The Epoch Times (@EpochTimes) April 11, 2024
The gun-loving crowd is saying that the ATF isn’t supposed to keep a record of all the guns, and they should be more focused on fighting crime than playing politics. They point out that the government just needs to punish people who break the gun laws that are already there. Those who support the Second Amendment say the ATF is making a big deal about nothing.
The ATF report said they looked at over 9,700 gun trafficking cases from 2017 to 2021 and found nearly 230,000 trafficked guns. On average, there were 16 guns in each case, and most of the cases involved just five or fewer guns. The report also found that selling guns without a fancy license was the most common crime in the trafficking cases.
Gun supporters don’t take the ATF report seriously. They say the ATF is more interested in taking legal gun owners and licensed dealers to the woodshed than actually stopping the bad guys. They’re making a stink about how the ATF spends a lot of time looking into normal people who sold just a few guns.
The ATF is asking for money to hire more people to look at all the gun data they have. But the Second Amendment folks are saying, “No way!” They think the ATF can’t be trusted with all that information and that the agency already has a sneaky list of guns. They’re not buying that the ATF needs more cash.
The ATF report listed the types of crimes they’re trying to fight, like when a legal buyer gets a gun for someone who’s not supposed to have one, or when a felon has a firearm. The report said that trafficked guns were linked to a bunch of violent crimes. But the Second Amendment defenders are saying the ATF is just using this as an excuse to go after the rights given in the Second Amendment. They’re not convinced that the ATF really cares about stopping crime.
It seems like the ATF and the Second Amendment supporters are on two different pages when it comes to gun control. The ATF is saying they need more money and fancy stuff to fight crime, while the Second Amendment folks are claiming the ATF is going after good, law-abiding citizens. It’ll be interesting to see how this back-and-forth plays out.
