Republicans will possess a trifecta in Washington D.C. come January 20th thanks to Donald Trump’s victory on November 5th, along with the GOP reclaiming the Senate and maintaining control of the House.
With this favorable partisan configuration — at least on paper — gun rights advocates can finally go on offense. Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) is taking advantage of this political situation by pushing for a bill to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The “Abolish the ATF Act,” previously spearheaded by Rep. Matt Gaetz until he resigned from Congress, is one of the most prominent pro-gun bills to look out for in the upcoming 119th United States Congress.
Burlison is a veteran of Missouri state politics. He served in the State House from 2008 to 2016 and subsequently served in the State Senate from 2018 to 2022. He was first elected to the US Congress in 2022. Since joining Congress, Burlison has been a solid pro-Second Amendment champion.
Now, he’s pushing the envelope by introducing a bill that would get rid of one of the most unconstitutional government agencies in the federal government. The Missouri congressman has described the ATF as “a disaster.” He added, “For several decades they’ve been a disaster agency [which has] been violating the Second Amendment.”
Burlison’s plan to abolish the ATF would allow states to assume some of the ATF’s functions. In effect, Burlison is promoting a federalist approach to handling this issue. After all, there’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution that grants the federal government the authority to set up a government agency that micromanages people’s right to bear arms.
The Biden regime’s ATF has been particularly malicious. It issued numerous arbitrary regulations such as the criminalization of gun owners who possessed lawfully-obtained AR-pistol stabilizer braces. Another ATF rule the Biden regime implemented classified 80 percent complete firearm frames as firearms, thereby subjecting the acquisition of the frames to background checks. Further, the ATF implemented the rule that effectively established universal background checks for private firearms sales.
Pro-gun organizations such as Texas Gun Rights, the National Association for Gun Rights, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Gun Owners of America filed lawsuits against these ATF rules. Several of these end up being ruled moot or unenforceable. Donald Trump’s nomination of scores of conservative justices to the federal judiciary in his first term came in real handy in this instance.
However, there is still ongoing litigation with respect to the ATF’s abuses. Burlison stressed how such litigation would be unnecessary if his bill passed because of the simple fact the ATF would no longer exist.
There are no guarantees in politics, especially when dealing with Republicans who have a long track record of dropping the ball on key gun rights issues. With a Republican trifecta at the federal level, representatives can still stir the pot by introducing legislation to roll back the gun control regulatory state. Now is not the time to be complacent. So-called “pro-gun” politicians must be pressured to live up to their campaign promises. No questions asked.
We’re living in an opportune moment to shift the Overton Window in pro-Second Amendment discussions. Relentless activism from gun rights advocates is what allows for elected officials like Burlison to step up to the plate and introduce no compromise legislation.
The more noise that is made, the more likely politicians will hear the call of the grassroots and actually move in a pro-gun direction.
