There are a lot of people who want to end the ATF, but for a long time, all of them were gun rights advocates who had seen how the bureau abused its authority. For most Americans, it was just another federal law enforcement agency trying to do the right thing and catch criminals.

They had it in their heads that what happened in Ruby Ridge and in Waco were really just the result of lawless behavior rather than law enforcement screwing the pooch royally.

But as time marches on, things change.

Now, you can talk about ending the ATF and it's not nearly as fringe of an idea as it once was. In fact, now it's a fairly normal idea in politics.

The 119th Congress provides gun owners a unique chance to go on offense and advance pro-gun legislation. Donald Trump’s victory in November, coupled with Republicans’ retaking of the Senate and their continued control of the House, puts gun owners in a good position to get on the legislative scorecard, at least on paper. 

On Jan. 7, 2025, Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) took the initiative by introducing H.R. 221, the “Abolish the ATF Act’’, a succinct, one-page bill that aims to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Burlison’s bill already has 27 co-sponsors, with Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and Andy Biggs (R-AZ). 

In a statement to The National News Desk earlier in January, Burlison declared, “The ATF is emblematic of the deep-state bureaucracy that believes it can infringe on constitutional liberties without consequence. If this agency cannot uphold its duty to serve the people within the framework of the Constitution, it has no place in our government.” Burlison previously indicated that state governments should handle firearms issues without having the Feds butt in. He accused the ATF of “co-opting or commandeering [local] law enforcement to enforce laws” which elected officials in state legislation did not pass. The congressman suggested that states should be allowed to handle matters themselves, without federal interference.

Burlison’s bill is just the latest in congressional attempts to rein in the ATF’s power. Since the ATF’s infamous Waco siege of 1993, where nearly 80 people were killed, gun owners’ attitudes towards the ATF have hardened to the point where several elected officials have stepped up to introduce their respective ATF abolition bills. Members of Congress such Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have introduced their respective ATF abolition bills over the last decade.

The piece goes on to note that even if the ATF were to disappear tomorrow, the laws and regulations that infringe on our rights wouldn't disappear with it.

Instead, they'd shift over to another agency such as the FBI. I'm sorry, but that idea doesn't give me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside by any stretch of the imagination. The FBI has as many, if not more problems than the ATF does, at least when it comes to respecting people's rights.

That's why I like Brandon Herrera's take on what should happen with the ATF. First use it to dismantle the entire regulatory scheme through the courts, then dismantle the agency. Sure, enforcement of gun laws would still go to another agency, but the courts would have rendered many of them toothless to some degree or another.

Yet the big takeaway here is that while there are still a lot of uphill battles to be fought with regard to any attempt to abolish the ATF, we're strangely at a point in time where it's even being discussed. It's not just us standing around a gun show talking about how the agency should be eliminated, but members of Congress who are introducing bills to do just that.

While it may never happen, the ATF is threatened in ways other law enforcement agencies aren't, in part because of how they seem determined to infringe on a specific, constitutionally protected right over anything else that's part of the agency's mission.

Which alone should provide a stark warning to those who work for the ATF.

I wonder what the odds of them actually listening are.