By: Anthony Morelli
This will be a huge moment for Donald Trump.
He is going to be faced with the decision of a lifetime about gun control.
And Americans will be waiting with bated breath to see what move he makes.
Guns are not a natural issue to Donald Trump the way things like trade, immigration, and foreign policy are for him.
Trump was born and raised in New York City, a place that is not exactly known for a widespread culture of legal and responsible firearm ownership the way many places in middle America are.
Since he’s been in politics, he has generally voiced conservative views on the Second Amendment, but it’s not until the rubber hits the road that people will really know what he’s going to do.
Republicans in Congress are not shying away from putting him to the test, however.
One conservative pro-gun congressman, Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, has introduced a bill to abolish the ATF altogether.
Burlison and others are going to be watching carefully to see what Trump does on this key issue and how committed he truly is to the Second Amendment cause.
According to The Truth About Guns, “Last week, Republican U.S. Rep. Eric Burleson of Missouri announced that he would soon be introducing legislation to abolish the ATF—a move that many American gun owners have been seeking for years. The new legislation will mirror the ‘Abolish the ATF Act’ filed last year, which sought to eliminate the federal agency over concerns that its rulemaking related to firearms amounts to ‘big government overreach.’”
Burlison will be introducing the bill in January when Trump takes office, and he is hoping it will eventually reach Trump’s desk.
This is unlikely, since Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, but perhaps it will spur Trump to take action on the ATF.
The article continues, “In response to the announced legislation, ATF sent out a statement that did not address any of the actions that Burlison and others have mentioned as the measure’s impetus.”
“Co-sponsors of the measure include Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Mike Collins of Georgia, Bob Good of Virginia, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Mary Miller of Illinois, Cory Mills of Florida and Barry Moore of Alabama.
“Over the past several months, U.S. House Republicans have taken a number of actions designed to overturn overreach by the DOJ and ATF during President Biden’s tenure.”
If the ATF doesn’t want to see legislation like this filed, they would be better served by being respectful of America’s gun owners and focus solely on things like gun smuggling at the border.
Americans who own guns have come to distrust the ATF as stories have emerged of incidents around the country where gun owners have apparently been targeted.
Hopefully this will change under the Trump administration. It will certainly be a major test for the incoming president, and Eric Burlison and others are forcing him to make a choice.