The National Rifle Association and Congress have limited the growth and authority of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Washington Post reported Tuesday as part of its investigation into illegal guns.
The Justice Department agency has faced immense pressure from the gun lobby and members of Congress over the last few decades that has kept agency from obtaining the type of power wielded by the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Marshals Service. The ATF has had only 2,500 agents since it separated from the Internal Revenue Service in 1972, while its sister agencies secured at least 49 percent more agents over the last 39 years, according to The Post.
But the ATF also faces other obstacles.
The agency isn’t allowed to computerize gun ownership records, hasn’t had a confirmed leader since 2006 and faces myriad restrictions that slow down and complicate its efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
“We were always given just enough food and water to survive,” Michael Bouchard, former ATF Assistant Director for Field Operations, told the newspaper. “We could barely just keep going. The ATF could never get that strong, because the gun lobby would get too concerned.”
The NRA denied to The Post that it ever lobbied against increasing the ATF’s resources.
Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA Institute for Legislature Action, said his organization supports ATF efforts to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. But he said the agency must not put an undue burden on law-abiding gun owners and dealers.
“We have not always agreed with some of the ATF’s priorities,” Cox told the newspaper. “We want to help ATF focus on its core mission … which is finding, apprehending, arresting and punishing people who break the law.”
