U.S. Representatives Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) have introduced legislation to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). If enacted, House Resolution No. 221 (H.R. 221) would abolish the ATF, stating, “The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is hereby abolished.” H.R. 221 currently has 27 cosponsors, including U.S. Representatives Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), and Harriet Hageman (R-Wyo.), among others.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution enumerates the powers of Congress, but it does not include the authority to regulate firearms or engage in law enforcement. Additionally, the Bill of Rights explicitly protects the God-given right to keep and bear arms, affirming that Congress has no constitutional authority to regulate firearms. The Second Amendment of the Constitution states, “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
H.R. 221 addresses the issue of federal law-enforcement agencies with expansive regulatory powers attacking constitutionally protected rights. Along with other anti-constitutional agencies, the ATF’s rulemaking and enforcement actions infringe on the God-given right to keep and bear arms protected by the Constitution.
Representative Boebert stated that the ATF fundamentally opposes the Second Amendment and should be abolished:
I cannot imagine under any circumstance or administration where the ATF serves as an ally to the Second Amendment and law-abiding firearm owners across America. As co-chair of the Congressional Second Amendment Caucus, I’m eager to continue this effort with Rep. Burlison to defend our constitutional rights. The ATF should be abolished before they eventually abolish our Second Amendment.
Representative Burlison stated the ATF is part of a federal bureaucracy that oversteps constitutional bounds and stated it should be abolished because it fundamentally cannot operate within constitutional limits:
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.
It is imperative for Congress to support this legislation to abolish unconstitutional federal law enforcement and uncompromisingly defend God-given rights, which includes the right to keep and bear arms.
Abolishing the ATF would remove federal oversight of firearms, and dramatically reduce federal law enforcement infringing on the Second Amendment. The ATF’s interpretation and implementation of laws conflict with the Second Amendment and threaten the foundational principles of individual freedom and limited government intervention upon which the United States was built.
If enacted, H.R. 221 would significantly improve personal freedoms, shift focus to states’ rights, and highlight the need for a federal government that respects and protects the liberties it was established to safeguard.
Help restore the founding principles of balancing security and freedom, and urge your U.S. representative and senators to support H.R. 221 and protect the unalienable, God-given right to keep and bear arms without infringement.
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