Time to D.O.G.E. the ATF

Let's start slashing!

Well, the future for America is looking pretty good. Donald Trump was just reelected and conservatives took both houses of congress. We are in excellent shape to start trimming the massive amount of fat off the Federal Government hog. In that respect, Trump just announced that he plans to appoint Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to head the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE for short.

For those unaware, the name of this department is also an inside joke of sorts, a hat tip to an internet meme and cryptocurrency that was created as a joke.

While the name of this agency has a humorous background, the intent of the department is no joke. The federal government spends money like a drunken sailor who just got paid, who has no family and who thinks he is going to die in a couple months so he has nothing to lose.

The DOGE has one goal, curtail billions if not trillions in wasteful government spending. With that in mind, one place I would suggest starting that fat trimming would be with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.

Like many other gun owners across this nation, I am not a big fan of the ATF. They insert themselves into many places where they have no business, and their law enforcement agents tend to be very heavy handed.

That said, as a retired cop and as a guy who now works as an assistant manager of a gun store, I must admit that the ATF does in fact serve a couple of useful purposes.

What To Keep

Before I get to what should be cut, I want to address the jobs the ATF performs that should be kept.

• Licensing of Federal Firearms License (FFL) holders

  • Some will argue that no license should be required, but that is a different topic altogether. As it stands, they are required and someone needs to issue those licenses.

• Firearms and Ammunition Technologies Division

  • Responsible for inspecting and approval of new firearms designs prior to allowing public sale

  • Again, suggesting this should not be done requires significant changes to a number of federal laws, not the least of which are the National Firearms Act of 1934, the Gun Control Act of 1968, and the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986. While I strongly believe all of those laws need significant changes, the fact is until those changes are made, someone needs to make sure firearms being sold comply with those laws.

• National Tracing Center

  • This function is used by law enforcement agencies across the country when investigating crimes that have been committed involving firearms. It serves a legitimate purpose in attempting to solve violent crimes that have occurred by tracing the source of the firearms used, which can eventually lead investigators to the perpetrator.

• National Integrated Ballistic Information Network

  • They maintain a computer database of firearms ballistic information for guns that have been used in a crime. This is useful in linking crimes together allowing the potential solving of multiple crimes where the same gun was used.

  • While maintaining this tool is a good idea, it would be better served if it were taken from the ATF and transferred to the FBI

What to Cut

Now for the cost savings suggestions, specifically what parts of the ATF I think should be slashed. In short, everything not mentioned above, but more specifically:

• All law enforcement aspects within the ATF, especially including their special response teams.

  • There is no need for multiple, overlapping federal law enforcement agencies. The FBI (a topic for a whole other discussion, and a sore one at that) has the same jurisdiction that the ATF has, but has better training and more resources. If we can just get the FBI to stop investigating moms from school board meetings, raiding former president’s homes, spying on presidential candidates, harassing people about innocuous social media posts, and a boat load of other KGB-like actions, they would have a lot more time to investigate real federal crimes.

• Project Safe Neighborhoods

• Anti-Firearms Trafficking Campaign

New Purpose

The ATF should be nothing more than a licensing and regulatory bureau. Any investigation or enforcement of federal criminal violations should be carried out by the FBI.