Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is a law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice mandated to enforce federal criminal laws concerning the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives, as well as acts of arson and bombings, and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates the firearms and explosives industries via licensing.
The ATF works directly, and through partnerships with local law enforcement agencies to investigate and reduce crime.[1] The ATF employs approximately 5000 people across America and has a budget of nearly 1 billion dollars. Since 2001 the ATF has trained almost 6000 bomb technicians and investigators.
The ATF was severely criticized in the 1990's following several botched investigations and high profile shootings and deaths, including the Waco Siege of the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas. During the George W. Bush and Barack Obama administrations, the ATF conducted "Operation Fast and Furious" which involved selling rifles to Mexican drug cartels. A gun sold through the operation was later used to kill a US agent, and others were associated with various murders in Arizona and Mexico.
Contents
Conservative Veterans, Gun Enthusiasts See Police State Behaviors
Many Conservative veterans, American Oath Keeper Patriots, gun enthusiasts and preppers see the BATFE's behaviors since the Waco and Ruby Ridge tyrannical episodes as police state behaviors.
See Also
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in the U.S. Department of Treasury
- National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America, Second Amendment Foundation
Bibliography - Further Reading
- Party, Boston T., Boston's Gun Bible. Wyoming American Redoubt Javelin Press, 2008. Contains several chapters related to the BATF, with many references and discussions of the BATF, Waco and Ruby Ridge.
- Party, Boston T., Molon Labe!. Wyoming American Redoubt Javelin Press, 30 January 2004, 454 pp (first edition, paperback), ISBN 1-888766-07-7 - Conservative Christian Libertarian dystopian fiction novel entirely based around the issue of States' rights and the Tenth Amendment's connection with the Second Amendment right to armed citizen defense against federal tyranny. Contains several chapters related to the BATF, with many references and discussions of the BATF, Waco and Ruby Ridge.