BATFE To Be Disbanded?
At last some good news from the Republicans and, maybe, the Trump administration: A congressman has introduced legislation that would disband the scandal ridden Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Good news for libertarians, anyway, as most of us feel those substances needn't have their own police force to begin with.
A hiring freeze will take place first, then current agents will be reassigned to existing federal agencies such as FBI and- although not mentioned in the article-probably the U.S. Marshalls and such.
Finally some progress in downsizing government. Now we'll see if what Reagan said is true: "... a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!"
Let the battle cry for this be...Remember Waco! Let's let the downsizing begin!
posted by Fred Mangels @ 8:54 AM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Shuffling BATFE functions to other agencies doesn't necessarily mean "downsizing government." They could just as easily end up employing more people to do the same work, just in a less coordinated, less efficient manner.
Also, if they just hand most or all of the duties of the BATFE over to the FBI, they'll have created a larger, even more powerful FBI...in other words, centralizing and concentrating the power of the Federal government -- which from a Libertarian standpoint may actually be worse. Could backfire on the NRA as well -- they've been able to keep the BATFE fairly weak (forcing their gun-tracking department to work without any computers, just a huge warehouse of paper records), but with the added muscle of the FBI, the NRA may have a harder time calling the shots.
But most likely, it's not going to happen anyway. This is just a bill that's been introduced, as thousands of bills are every year, and most go nowhere. If I had to bet money on it, I'd bet that this bill will be one of the vast majority that go nowhere.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/26/us/legislative-handcuffs-limit-atfs-ability-to-fight-gun-crime.html
"How the NRA Hobbled the ATF"
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/02/atf-gun-laws-nra
"How the US Government Makes Gun Records Impossible to Trace"
https://www.vice.com/en_ca/article/the-atfs-nonsensical-non-searchable-gun-databases-explained-392
Basically, the NRA already has the BATFE exactly where they want them -- isolated, leaderless, and hobbled by bizarre restrictions. If the BATFE is basically absorbed into the FBI, those first two things will no longer be true and the third will be much harder to maintain. So "abolishing the BATFE" may make a good talking point to the NRA's base, but it's probably not something NRA leaders would actually want to see happen. Which is another reason this proposal is unlikely to get anywhere. The sponsor most likely knows that, and is just using this as a public relations move aimed at his constituents.
A lot of interesting & informative comments to consider. Thanks everyone for your insights. Let's hope they also ban the unconstitutional cia, blm, yaddayadda
Most ATF agents would not qualify for the FBI.
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