As Donald Trump assumes the presidency for his second term, the political winds are blowing in a pro-gun direction.

A Republican trifecta in Washington now allows for Second Amendment supporters to make unprecedented legislative progress on issues such as abolishing the ATF.  This would have been unheard of in previous decades.

Thanks to the relentless activism of grassroots Second Amendment supporters who have made Constitutional Carry law of the land in all red states, there’s an unprecedented mandate for action to be taken at the federal level. 

Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Eric Burlison (R-MO) have answered the call by recently introducing legislation that would shut down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The bill is only a page long and would abolish the government agency tasked with regulating guns and prosecuting federal gun violations.

In statements that the members of Congress released, they argued that ATF regulations are blatant infringements on American citizens’ right to bear arms. 

“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,” proclaimed Boebert.  

“The ATF is emblematic of the deep-state bureaucracy that believes it can infringe on constitutional liberties without consequence,” continued Burlison. “If this agency cannot uphold its duty to serve the people within the framework of the Constitution, it has no place in our government.”

The ATF abolition bill has 7 co-sponsors thus far which includes populist firebrands such as Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Mike Collins (R-GA), and Paul Gosar (R-AZ).

Instead, Burlison believes a federalist approach must be used to address the question of enforcing gun laws. He sees the ATF as a top-down entity that’s susceptible to committing transgressions on Second Amendment freedoms. 

Burlison is on to something. 

The ATF is an unconstitutional government agency that is not accountable to the will of the voters. In effect, the ATF can engage in flagrantly illegal behavior but still be allowed to exist, and even receive greater funding, because it has transformed into a bureaucracy that is not subject to democratic mechanisms. 

This aspect of the ATF makes it a useful tool for gun control tyrants. Throughout the outgoing Biden regime, gun controllers realized that they couldn’t pass their gun grabs through traditional legislative actions. In turn, they turned to the ATF to impose their gun control wish list in a top-down fashion. 

One of the most lurid cases of this was the ATF’s establishment of a new regulation to change the definition of what is a gun “dealer.” Then-President Joe Biden wanted to implement universal background checks and close the so-called  “gun show loophole.” However, he could not find the votes in Congress to make these measures become law. 

Under the ATF’s new “dealer” rule, private individuals would be compelled to obtain a federal firearms license (FFL) for conducting virtually all firearms transactions — from private sales to firearm transfers to friends or family members that were generally exempt from federal gun control regulations. 

Gun owners did not sit by idly as the ATF tried to impose a gun control tyranny on the American population. They threw wrenches in the gun control machine by filing lawsuits against the ATF and even secured victories such as reversing the Trump-era bump stock ban. 

Most importantly, gun owners had their voices heard at the polls last November when they re-elected Trump and allowed Republicans to take back the Senate and keep the House. 

A paradigm shift is now underway, as more and more people are questioning the very validity of the ATF’s existence. Representatives like Lauren Boebert and Eric Burlison are channeling these voters’ frustrations by putting forward legislation to end this unconstitutional agency. 

Such legislative action must continue to be encouraged. With talk of abolishing the ATF in the air, now is the time to turn up the heat and make sure that all Republican members of Congress get the memo that the ATF has to be consigned to the dustbin of history. 

Our gun rights won’t be restored until this unconstitutional agency is abolished.