KANSAS CITY, Missouri – Two politicians from Missouri are now in charge of breaking down the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.
The service has been around since 1886, but it has only been on its own since 1972.
Since the ATF has a field office in Kansas City, that would mean that more government workers in the area would be let go. This office does a lot of work that we don’t always see. For example, they lead investigations into gun crimes and arson, do background checks, and make sure that gun dealers follow federal law.
Steve Brackeen runs a gun store in the area, and he thinks the agency’s job is “critical.”
Almost two years ago, someone broke into Brackeen’s gun shop and took about fifty guns.
“This was how we kept our books.” They drove right through the wall and hit all the computers and furniture against it. The secretary would have been dead if she were here.
The ATF was in charge of finding out who did this crime.
“The ATF comes in soon after they broke in and starts gathering evidence.” After a short time, they had caught and charged everyone involved.
The office of the prosecutor for Jackson County said:
But two congressmen, Mark Alford and Eric Burlison, are part of a group of Republicans who want to get rid of the office.
His team told FOX4 that Alford couldn’t talk on camera because he had a “packed schedule,” but he did send them a message that says, in part:
“The ATF is a bad government agency with a track record that is among the worst in the country. It has repeatedly violated the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding Americans while collecting vast amounts of personal information about them without their permission. The office should be shut down if it doesn’t want to follow the constitution. Its powers should then be given to other departments that have a history of following the law.
There was no proof in the statement to back up those claims.
“They’re very important in the gun world.” “They make the rules, and we have to follow them and keep everything up to date,” Brackeen said.
Today, the KCPD told FOX4 that they value their partnerships with all government agencies, including the ATF.
We got in touch with the ATF. A spokesperson for them said that they are not allowed to do any talks with the media for the next 90 days. That person called headquarters, but our request was turned down.
