Concur. My study of history, in large part from the work of Clayton Cramer, makes it painfully clear that, after alcohol prohibition was ended, the ATF, which had grown more than tenfold in that period, could not imagine downsizing, so instead it simply shifted its prohibition efforts to other areas. You'll note that the NFA ruling came soon after, and it's gone more or less downhill since.
Coincidence? Not likely.
