ATF Improvement and Modernization Act Seeks to Make ATF ‘Above the Law’

What is the ATF Improvement and Modernization? And how will it affect your rights to own a gun? Learn more about it here.

Getting to Know the ATF Improvement and Modernization Act

Congressman Don Beyer (D-VA-08) and Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) have introduced a bill that would give the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) unlimited powers to create gun control laws.

The ATF Improvement and Modernization Act or the AIM Act would “remove irresponsible statutory restrictions” on ATF that would allow the bureau to operate above the law and without any supervision.

As usual, any changes to existing checks-and-balances systems that protect the rights of law-abiding citizens who own firearms are being called a “common sense” approach by those seeking to disarm Americans.

“Our legislation would empower the government professionals charged with protecting the public to actually do their jobs and prevent criminals from acquiring and using guns. This is a commonsense approach to addressing an issue that claims tens of thousands of American lives every year, and I appreciate Senator Van Hollen and the gun violence prevention leaders who worked with us to craft this bill,” said Representative Beyer.

Well-known gun control groups like Everytown for Gun Safety, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Giffords, Brady United Against Gun Violence, Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, and March for Our Lives support the bill, which would absolve ATF of any legal responsibility.

Key Takeaways

The ATF AIM Act is full of ways to infringe on our rights, but here are the main points to be aware of:

• Allow the ATF to maintain a national centralized firearm database
• Allow the ATF to transfer agency functions to another agency
• Lower the standard of proof for revoking a seller’s license
• Enable the ATF to conduct multiple inspectors of a dealer in a year
• Allow the ATF to deny a firearm license for lack of business
• Enable the ATF to prevent imports of non-sporting use shotguns
• Allow the ATF to make trace data available to the public

Here is how you can expect to see these changes affect the public:

• All of your personal information will be on record with the federal government forever because you own a firearm
• The ATF can involve the FBI and other agencies in their investigations, calling on the full power of the federal government in backing their decisions and enforcing their new laws
• The ATF can harass a gun store on a regular basis because they want to, ultimately forcing them to close
• Revoke licenses from gun stores at any time, and for any reason
• Prevent importation of weapons, which can increase to include any types of firearms in the future and at their whim
• Your private information can become public information, just because you own a firearm

If you already feel that the government has too much power and spies on American citizens, the ATF AIM Act will only exacerbate the problem.

Contact your representatives and tell them to vote NO on the ATF AIM Act.

This proposed legislation only serves to further punish law-abiding citizens and firearms dealers.

It does not address illegal gun trafficking or violent crime,

What do you think of the ATF Improvement and Modernization Act? Do you agree that the ATF wants to be above the law? Share us your two cents in the comments section below!

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