Bill calls for abolishment of ATF

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mugsy

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Two separate issues here - one is streamlining government administration, which is nominally non-partisan, and the other is a highly partisan issue of overall gun regulation. No matter what one thinks of overall gun regulation it should be seen as a good idea to reduce the number of branch heads and administrative staff by consolidating agencies if that can be done reasonably. Simply eliminating one agency and transferring responsibilities to another w/o giving resources adequate to the task is asking for unintended (and probably undesirable) secondary effects.

To those of you who are saying repeal the NFA - nice goal but completely unsupportable even in the current Congress UNLESS you want to trade something even bigger to Democrats to gain Senate passage, and I would not, because the cost would be high. Given that, don't let the good (consolidation/government reform) become hostage to the perfect (NFA repeal) that's the kind of politics that only works around the bar but not in the halls of Congress.
 

ConstitutionCowboy

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Two separate issues here - one is streamlining government administration, which is nominally non-partisan, and the other is a highly partisan issue of overall gun regulation. No matter what one thinks of overall gun regulation it should be seen as a good idea to reduce the number of branch heads and administrative staff by consolidating agencies if that can be done reasonably. Simply eliminating one agency and transferring responsibilities to another w/o giving resources adequate to the task is asking for unintended (and probably undesirable) secondary effects.

To those of you who are saying repeal the NFA - nice goal but completely unsupportable even in the current Congress UNLESS you want to trade something even bigger to Democrats to gain Senate passage, and I would not, because the cost would be high. Given that, don't let the good (consolidation/government reform) become hostage to the perfect (NFA repeal) that's the kind of politics that only works around the bar but not in the halls of Congress.
I see no good in this proposed move to "streamline" government. I only see obfuscation, a spread of the evil around multiple bureaucracies which will only make it more difficult to repeal the NFA, and place citizen arms owners under the jurisdiction of multiple agencies.

As for a partisan divide, what does that tell you about the Democrat party and liberals in general? It tells me they do not and will not abide the Constitution. They subvert the Constitution continually, and We the People suffer their diversions. I'm sick of it far beyond just the infringements to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Only dictators and tyrants have a need to destroy the moral fiber of a nation and disarm the populace.

woody

If the ends sought cannot be achieved through the means granted to the Federal Government in the Constitution, there is neither a need nor the power for the Federal Government to get involved. B.E.Wood
 

Frederick

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transferring the ATF's responsibilities to a larger investigate branch like the FBI or DEA would simply result in greater funding and resources for their activities. At least with all the powers concentrated in this smaller branch, as long as the NFA is around at all, we can limit the ATF's ability to receive the funding necessary to complete it's 'mission'. If the FBI or DEA gets a hold of the enforcement powers, it would be trivial for a future liberal/democrat administration to prioritize ATF enforcement duties of an existing branch and the resources granted to it by Congress.

You can reign in the ATF, it's a lot harder to reign in the FBI, administratively and legislatively speaking.
 

Shadowrider

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Transferring it's powers to other agencies does not eliminate the pain in the ass it is. I'd rather Congress eliminated the agency AND its powers. Repealing the NFA would accomplish that in one simple, easy step.

Woody

It could make it a more effective pain in the ass which is bad news for us. And why the ATF? Why does DEA get a pass? On it's face it makes more sense to roll them all into the FBI. Not sure that's what we want tho...Seems better to get them all out of regulating firearms and leave it to the states where it belongs.
 

Frederick

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It could make it a more effective pain in the ass which is bad news for us. And why the ATF? Why does DEA get a pass? On it's face it makes more sense to roll them all into the FBI. Not sure that's what we want tho...Seems better to get them all out of regulating firearms and leave it to the states where it belongs.

Honestly, sometimes i wonder why we need a federal government at all.
 

druryj

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Honestly, sometimes i wonder why we need a federal government at all.

Man, that scares me. What do you want? A bunch of little independent nation-states and independent territories? How long do you think these little fish would last in the big pond we call the world?
 

mightymouse

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I doubt the good Congressman's bill will ever get out of committee. Usual Washington grandstanding--he wants to be seen as doing something, even if it can't be done.
 

Frederick

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Man, that scares me. What do you want? A bunch of little independent nation-states and independent territories? How long do you think these little fish would last in the big pond we call the world?

Well, maybe less of a federal government and more of an advanced EU/confederation type system. Maybe just have each state make agreements with eachother, share a military and have an common economic system similar to the EU in terms of free transfer of people, goods and common currency.

Oklahoma could go with Texas, and maybe Texlahoma could unite with the other redder states.
 

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