Ashcroft's Control of ATF Concerns Both Sides of Gun Debate (Crazy liberals go apoplectic, My title)

CNSNews.com ^ | February 04, 2003 | Michael L. Betsch

[11th Commandment]

Alternately criticized and praised for being an ally of gun owners, U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft now has authority over the firearms issues previously managed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. (The agency was renamed the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Jan. 24, 2003.)

Anti-gun activists fear Ashcroft, in his added role, will be a weak enforcer of firearms laws while some libertarians worry that the attorney general will have too much power and might abuse it.

Since its inception over 200 years ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been responsible for regulating and collecting revenue for the U.S. Department of the Treasury. But September 11, 2001, marked a turning point in the federal agency's mission.

When President Bush signed the Homeland Security Bill last November, creating a new government agency to combat terrorism, it stipulated that the ATF would be split into two separate entities in 2003.

[11th Commandment]

The libs have it wrong again. Government prosecutions on Gun Law violations have increased under Ascroft/Bush. New laws have not.

[Dan from Michigan]

"In the past, we Americans have prided ourselves in something that has made us different from the Europeans, among others, is we have no such thing as a national police force," Waldron said. "With the advent of the Department of Homeland Security and with the proposed expansion of government power to both detain people and to conduct searches that passed in the USA Patriot Act a year ago...the civil libertarian in me has concerns."

Well said.

[DCBryan1]

Since its inception over 200 years ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

BATF s 200 years old!?

News to me. Sounds like an outdated organization, regardless of age.

[RicocheT]

"no such thing as a national police force,"

Where has this child been? The feds have had a national police force with the BATF, FBI and an alphabet list of federal agencies since before the FDR administration.

[Mack the knife]

I believe that this is marginally good news.

First, it corrects a historical folly of assigning control of firearms to Treasury. Remember, both Congress and the President recognized that the 2nd amendment prevented the government from outright outlawing of firearms (machine guns, sawed off shotguns, silencers, explosives), but recent Suprement Court decisions allowed them to tax them. So they passed a tax; and since taxes were collected by the Treasury, and Treasury had an enforcement arm for taxing alcohol (remember Shey's rebellion??? it was over alcohol tax), they put it's enforcement there. (I guess they forgot about that part about "...shall not be infringed").Of course later, the BATF decided to not accept the tax, transforming the tax into a gun ban.

Secondly, having the BATF responsible for gun law enforcement, monitored only by Treasury, and the FBI for enforcement of other federal laws, monitored by the DOJ, allowed the BATF to mutate into rogue behavior. Putting it directly under the DOJ may help out that process - DOJ guys will be a bit more strict about bad behavior than someone at Treasury (who is told they don't know anything about law enforcement). But, given the amout of rogue action by the FBI, it won't be much better than it is now.