By Chris McNutt

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is undergoing a drastic shake-up, with 1,000 agents being reassigned—a move that gun owners across America are celebrating as a step in the right direction.

This follows the recent appointment of Robert Leider as the new pro-gun Chief Counsel, who replaced the previous anti-gun Chief Counsel, Pamela Hicks responsible for overseeing the agency’s unconstitutional rulemaking over the past several years.

While this marks a major reversal of the ATF’s decades-long war on gun owners, it is not enough. The ultimate goal should not be to reform the ATF—it should be to abolish it entirely.

A U-Turn at the ATF

For years, the ATF has been a rogue agency, enforcing unconstitutional gun control measures and expanding its authority without Congressional approval. Under the Biden administration, the ATF led the charge in implementing policies such as:

• The Pistol Brace Ban, targeting millions of law-abiding gun owners.
• The “Engaged in the Business” rule, forcing private sellers to register as firearms dealers.
• The so-called “Ghost Gun” rule, restricting the private assembly of firearms.

With Kash Patel as Acting Director and a new pro-Second Amendment Chief Counsel replacing the agency’s previous DEI hire, the ATF is now being forced to scale back its unconstitutional overreach. Reassigning 1,000 agents is a significant move, signaling a major shift in priorities.

Gun Control Groups in Meltdown Mode

As expected, anti-gun groups like Giffords and Everytown for Gun Safety are furious over the decision to cut ATF agents. In a statement, Giffords falsely claimed that weakening the ATF will make Americans less safe and allow gun traffickers to flood the streets with firearms.

But the truth is that the ATF has never been about stopping crime—it has been about harassing gun owners, revoking FFLs over paperwork errors, and expanding gun control through backdoor rulemaking. If anti-gun politicians were serious about public safety, they would be prosecuting criminals, not disarming law-abiding Americans.

Abolish the ATF & Repeal the NFA

While cutting 1,000 agents is a positive step, it is not enough. Congress must act now to eliminate the ATF completely. That’s why gun owners across America are demanding passage of H.R. 221 to abolish the ATF and H.R. 335 to repeal the National Firearms Act (NFA).

Why repeal the NFA? Because even if the ATF is abolished, gun control advocates could simply transfer its enforcement powers to another agency. Without eliminating the NFA, future administrations could revive the war on gun owners under a different three-letter agency.

The Fight is Far From Over

Gun owners should take this moment to celebrate the forced retreat of the ATF, but they must not get complacent. The anti-gun lobby is regrouping, and they will attempt to weaponize other government agencies to continue their assault on the Second Amendment.

The solution? Shut it down completely.

Gun owners must continue to pressure Congress to pass H.R. 221 and H.R. 335, ensuring that the tyranny of the ATF ends once and for all. Because the only good ATF is a defunded, dismantled, and nonexistent ATF.