The White Paper On Firearms Regulations

[Justin]

I checked the LinkedIn page of the author of the leaked white paper, and there are a couple of indicators that he may be, well, if not one of us, then at least someone who's reasonable.

His paper has a lot of reasonable suggestions, and I suspect some of them might be either a reaction to Trump's "for every 1 new reg, delete 2", or an attempt to curry favor with the administration. That makes me somewhat hopeful that ATF would like to enter an era where they are more reasonable.

Also, the American Suppressor Association posted a note on Facebook today that they've been meeting with ATF reps about the HPA, which seems really unprecedented. I can't think of a single time in my life when there has been an amicable meeting between a gun rights organization and ATF. So, that gives me hope as well.

If nothing else, the best we can do is continue to call on our legislators to fix the law, and point out that even the ATF considers this fix to be a good idea.

[Aloha_Shooter]

I see absolutely no reason those productive endeavors couldn't be handled by the FBI, and likely in a far more effective fashion...

BATFE should never have been allowed to exist/persist (at least as a law enforcement agency), and the new Administration has an opportunity to correct a massive wrong which has been inflicted upon American Citizens....

If the job were transferred to the FBI, they'd have to hire additional people and would likely end up with the same people that are doing it now. I prefer to keep each federal agency as small as possible and minimize the eventual empire-building and expansion of agency "projects" that comes with increased responsibilities. IMO, keep the FBI focused on investigating threats to the country and keep the ATF focused on administering taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and firearms (which is what they were supposed to be doing) -- just reduce the ATF in size and scope so they can't self-initiate stuff like they did under Holder.

[DireWolf]

If the job were transferred to the FBI, they'd have to hire additional people and would likely end up with the same people that are doing it now. I prefer to keep each federal agency as small as possible and minimize the eventual empire-building and expansion of agency "projects" that comes with increased responsibilities.

That's a very good point.

...keep the ATF focused on administering taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and firearms (which is what they were supposed to be doing) -- just reduce the ATF in size and scope so they can't self-initiate stuff like they did under Holder.

I think this is entirely reasonable, the key being that they should become fully admin/clerical in nature, and need to engage with local LE or FBI/SS/etc. for any "field enforcement", etc...

[Rucker61]

If the job were transferred to the FBI, they'd have to hire additional people and would likely end up with the same people that are doing it now. I prefer to keep each federal agency as small as possible and minimize the eventual empire-building and expansion of agency "projects" that comes with increased responsibilities. IMO, keep the FBI focused on investigating threats to the country and keep the ATF focused on administering taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and firearms (which is what they were supposed to be doing) -- just reduce the ATF in size and scope so they can't self-initiate stuff like they did under Holder.

Good points. It would be nice to have someone arresting all those felons before they commit more crimes, though.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Good points. It would be nice to have someone arresting all those felons before they commit more crimes, though.

Easy ... they should act through either the local police or US Marshals when they find a violation. If we were to truly practice federalism as envisioned by the Founding Fathers, most crimes pursued by the federal government should have to be prosecuted through local authorities.

[TFOGGER]

I'm not holding my breath concerning reform at the ATF (or any of the alphabet monstrosities), but I'll gladly accept a reduction in regulation if it should come about. This white paper is most likely nothing, but it could be a start.

[Rucker61]

Easy ... they should act through either the local police or US Marshals when they find a violation. If we were to truly practice federalism as envisioned by the Founding Fathers, most crimes pursued by the federal government should have to be prosecuted through local authorities.

Works for me. They'd certainly get there quicker than the feds, and who wouldn't want to arrest felons?

[ray1970]

most crimes pursued by the federal government should have to be prosecuted through local authorities.

Like selling marijuana?



Oh, and as far as the BATFE being efficient, I propose we let the local DMV handle things for a while and see if anyone notices a difference.

[def90]

Does this have legs or just blowing more smoke?

http://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/doc...ulations/2325/

People in government agencies write these "White Papers" all the time as part of their job. They rarely lead to actual changes. Besides, half the things mentioned in there are laws that were passed by congress of which only congress can pass a law to then change or remove them.