Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has introduced legislation to eliminate the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).
Greene said she introduced the bill, House Resolution 3960, also known as the “Brian A. Terry Memorial Eliminate the ATF Act”, in honor of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, who was killed in the line of duty in December 2010 with a gun provided to Mexican drug cartels through then-President Barack Obama's and then-Attorney General Eric Holder’s ATF “Fast & Furious” program.
Co-sponsors of the legislation include Republican Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida, Paul Gosar of Arizona, and Ralph Norman of South Carolina.
Related: Defund the ATF, say some conservatives who fear Biden gun-grab, December 21, 2020
Under Fast & Furious, the ATF instructed federal firearms licensees to allow illegal gun sales to proceed. The ATF allowed the firearms to move across the border into Mexico, with the alleged hope of tracing them back to criminal organizations. The ATF, however, lost track of the guns that made their way across the southern border.
“Twelve years ago, under the direction of hate America leftist Eric Holder, the ATF smuggled firearms to Mexican drug cartels (Operation Fast & Furious) who then used those firearms to kill American hero Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. This can NEVER be allowed to happen again,” Green told The Daily Caller. “Joe Biden’s nomination of gun-grabber David Chipman, who wants to ban, confiscate and destroy the most popular self-defense and hunting rifle in America owned by millions of American patriots, is a clear indication that the ATF’s war on gun owners is just beginning and is about to crank up.
Greene’s office told The Daily Caller the legislation would make the following changes:
• Repeals all ATF regulations and guidance after August 1, 2020, to the date of enactment; rescinds hiring authority for the Bureau, and abolishes the Bureau 6 months after the date of enactment.
• Alcohol, Tobacco, and other regulatory functions are transferred back to the FBI.
• Requires that the Bureau publish an itemized list on their website of all confiscated firearms and ammunition possessed by the Bureau, which must be sold to Federal Firearms Licensed (FFL) dealers via public auction before the Bureau closes.
• Proceeds from the auction are placed into a fund for the families of border patrol officers killed in the line of duty as a result of Operation Fast and Furious (i.e. after December 1, 2009), providing grants up to $150,000 per family affected.
• Any remaining funds not used by 2032 will be re-directed to a program awarding states grant funds to establish firearm safety programs.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) Senior Vice President Erich Pratt blasted the ATF’s recent move to consider outlawing some AR- and AK-style pistols with arm braces.
“This ATF is simply out of control,” Pratt said. “This agency — which shouldn’t exist in the first place — is not held accountable for its actions, and honest gun owners who are being turned into criminals are paying the price.”
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