Many people in the firearms world aren’t big fans of the ATF. After all, as one T-shirt that I saw said, “Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, and explosives should be the name of a convenience store, not a government agency.”
I’m sympathetic to that thinking. I am a Second Amendment absolutist, though. Shall not be infringed sounds like it pretty clearly means no infringement for any reason.
After all, those who live by the sword (to reference the Bible) tend to die by the sword, too. Criminals who use violence wouldn’t survive very long if Americans en masse made use of their 2A rights everyday.
So, if you relate to my line of thinking on that, any announcement of an ATF rule change can make you a bit nervous.
But, hey, maybe those rule changes are actually in our favor. Jack Phillips brings us the details:
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) on July 3 indicated it would further roll back laws and rules on guns, proposing to reduce fingerprinting requirements on applications for certain types of firearms.
Since April, the ATF has moved to trim a number of federal firearms rules, including ending the previous administration’s pistol brace rule, rules around background checks at gun shows and online marketplaces, and others.
On July 3, the federal agency said it is proposing “amending regulatory requirements to submit fingerprints and photographs with firearms applications” to register items or firearms under the National Firearms Act. Those firearms and components include suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns, among others that require ATF approval.
Okay, I’ll admit that I welcome these particular rule changes. I’m still in favor of getting rid of the ATF and all gun control, but I’m practical enough to appreciate movement of any kind in the right direction.
And that’s certainly what this appears to be.
So, good for the ATF for doing the right thing.
