ATF agents, by and large, aren't exactly beloved by the gun rights crowd. That's because it seems the ATF's sole mission is to make lives difficult for the law-abiding citizen while accomplishing damn near nothing to combat armed criminals.

Couple that with things like Waco and Ruby Ridge and we're just not that likely to get a warm, fuzzy feeling when an ATF agent, past or present, opines about gun control

Sure, there are probably some decent people who worked with the agency over the years, but we're not exactly going to just assume everyone that ever wore that particular badge is one of the good guys.

Especially with people like this retired agent really pushing the anti-gun narrative in Missouri.

Stop the madness. Let’s do something positive to fight gun violence in Missouri. As a retired agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, I know legislation passed by the General Assembly in recent years is a causal factor of the increased gun violence in the major cities of St. Louis and Kansas City.

...

More than three years ago, I emailed letters to my state Rep. Vic Allred, state Sen. Tony Luetkemeyer and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas. In these letters, I suggested legislation to allow for stricter gun control laws in the local communities of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Kansas City and Jackson County. I also suggested local ordinances requiring permits for handguns and assault weapons, and to carry or transport loaded weapons of this type in these jurisdictions. Residents of these special jurisdictions, currently carrying concealed weapons (handguns and assault rifles) would be grandfathered in, as long as they did not carry a loaded handgun or assault weapon outside their residence or business property. I also detailed specifics of these permit requirements, including criminal penalties, firearm and vehicle seizures, and a special gun court.

I received no feedback or questions from these government leaders.

Remember the perpetrators of the Chiefs rally mass shooting at Union Station were carrying and using handguns and an assault rifle.

Of course, the guy who kicked off the whole thing had a stolen gun, which is illegal to even possess and that's true even in Missouri.

Funny how he left that part out.

See, the problem with too many ATF agents, past and present, is that they think that because they work to enforce gun control laws, they're actually the experts on guns, gun control's efficacy, and really anything remotely related to firearms.

We know just how much BS that actually is.

But in his first paragraph, he says, "As a retired agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, I know legislation passed by the General Assembly in recent years is a causal factor of the increased gun violence in the major cities of St. Louis and Kansas City."

He knows it. Definitively. He absolutely knows that Missouri's gun laws, or the lack thereof, is the reason so-called gun violence has increased in Missouri.

And yet, he never actually defends that assertion.

This is argument from authority, an informal logical fallacy. He's wanting the reader to accept his claims because of his supposed authority as a retired ATF agent.

I bet he also wonders why gun rights supporters don't like the ATF.

Frankly, any law enforcement officer, either active or retired, that is advocating for the restriction of people's rights needs to be viewed with a certain degree of skepticism. Are they advocating for that because they believe it's the right thing to do, or because of reasons that have everything to do with their job and nothing else?

It seems pretty clear that this retired agent falls into the latter camp and he expect you to swallow it because he was a great and mighty ATF agent.

Considering how little their fearless leader and supposed firearm experts actually know about guns, I see no reason to assume they know anything about anything else, either.