Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
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The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a United States federal agency; more specifically a specialized law enforcement and regulatory organization within the United States Department of Justice. Its official abbreviation is "ATF" [1], however it is frequently also referred to as "BATF" or "BATFE". Its responsibilities include the investigation and prevention of federal offenses involving the unlawful use, manufacture, and possession of firearms and explosives, acts of arson and bombings, and illegal trafficking of alcohol and tobacco products. The ATF also regulates via licensing, the sales, possession, and transportation of firearms, ammunition, and explosives in interstate commerce. Many of ATF's activities are carried out in conjunction with task forces made up of state and local law enforcement officers, such as Project Safe Neighborhoods. ATF operates a one-of-a-kind fire research laboratory in Ammendale, Maryland, where full-scale mock-ups of criminal arsons can be reconstructed.
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[edit] Organizational history
The ATF was formerly part of the United States Department of the Treasury, having been formed in 1886 as the "Revenue Laboratory" within the Treasury Department's Bureau of Internal Revenue. The history of ATF can be subsequently traced to the time of the "revenoors"[1] and the Bureau of Prohibition, which was formed as a unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue in 1920, was made an independent agency within the Treasury Department in 1927, was transferred to the Justice Department in 1928, and became, briefly, a subordinate division of the FBI in 1933.
When the Volstead Act was repealed in December 1933, the Unit was transferred from the Department of Justice back to the Department of the Treasury where it became the Alcohol Tax Unit of the Bureau of Internal Revenue. Special Agent Eliot Ness and several members of "Untouchables", who had worked for the Prohibition Bureau while the Volstead Act was still in force, were transferred to the ATU. In 1942, responsibility for enforcing federal firearms laws was given to the ATU.
In the early 1950s, the name of the Bureau of Internal Revenue was changed to "Internal Revenue Service" (IRS),[2] and the ATU was given the additional responsibility of enforcing federal tobacco tax laws. At this time, the name of the ATU was changed to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division (ATTD).
In 1968, with the passage of the Gun Control Act, the agency changed its name again -- this time to the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division, still a part of the IRS, and first began to be referred to by the initials "ATF". In 1972, President Richard Nixon signed an Executive Order creating a separate Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms within the Treasury Department.
In the wake of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, President George W. Bush signed into law the Homeland Security Act of 2002. In addition to creating of the Department of Homeland Security, the law shifted ATF (and its investigative and regulatory inspection functions) from the Treasury Department to the Justice Department. The agency's name was changed to the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives" in recognition of the agency's role in explosives regulation and enforcement; the Bureau retained, however, the use of its original acronym, "ATF", for all purposes. Additionally, task of collection of federal tax revenue derived from the production of tobacco and liquor products originally handled by ATF was transferred to the newly established Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), which remained within the Treasury Department. The Ballistics department assumed the job of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). These changes took effect January 24, 2003.
[edit] Regulation of firearms
ATF is responsible for regulating firearm commerce in the United States. The Bureau issues Federal Firearms Licenses (FFL) to sellers, and conducts firearms licensee inspections. The Bureau is also involved in programs aimed at reducing gun violence in the United States, by targeting firearm law violators. ATF was also involved with the Youth Crime Gun Interdiction Initiative, which expanded tracing of firearms recovered by law enforcement, and the ongoing Comprehensive Crime Gun Tracing Initiative.[3] ATF also provides support to state and local investigators, through the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) program.
[edit] Criticism
[edit] ATF during the 1990s
Two incidents in the early 1990s brought criticism to the agency, as well as to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), specifically the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) and U.S. Marshals (USM).
The first incident occurred on August 21, 1992, and is known as the Ruby Ridge incident. A shot fired by an FBI HRT sniper Lon Horiuchi killed an unarmed woman while holding her daughter as she stood in the doorway of her home. The raid, conducted by the FBI, was the execution of a search warrant issued based on an ATF investigation. The warrant involved a short barreled shotgun claimed to violate federal gun laws, and was later found to have been illegally issued (See: Trial findings) [2] The incident has become a lightning rod for legal activists within the gun rights community. The ATF and FBI were officially reprimanded for their handling of the investigation and resulting raid. At the time the President was George H. W. Bush and Attorney General was William Barr.
The second incident was the so-called Waco Siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas from February 28, 1993 until April 19, 1993. The incident began with the death of four ATF Special Agents and ended with the deaths of 74 people, including 23 children. ATF conducted the first raid of the compound, based on a warrant in which it was alleged that individuals within the compound possessed illegal arms and otherwise violated federal firearms laws with regard to other weapons (Confirmed by the shooting of ATF agents). Later, after a 51 day long standoff with FBI and other law enforcement, the FBI introduced CS gas to the compound. U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno had approved of this action. An ensuing fire and building collapse killed most occupants of the building. Although a grand jury found that the deaths were suicides or otherwise caused by people inside the compound, widespread accusations of excessive force by law enforcement persist.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.atf.gov/about/atf30anniv.htm
- ^ As early as the year 1929, however, the Bureau of Internal Revenue had begun using the name "Internal Revenue Service" on at least one tax form. See Form 1040, Individual Income Tax Return for year 1929, as republished in historical documents section of Publication 1796 (Rev. Feb. 2007), Internal Revenue Service, U.S. Department of the Treasury.
- ^ ATF Snapshot (2006). Bureau of Alcohol, Tobaco, Firearms, and Explosives.
- ^ David Thibodeau. The Truth About Waco. Salon.com
[edit] External links
- Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives website
- ATF Regulations (Search ATF Regulations)
- Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau website
- JPFO Articles Concerning BATF Potential Abuse of Power
- The mission of the ATF (ATF website)
- Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, And Explosives Bureau Meeting Notices and Rule Changes from The Federal Register RSS Feed
| Alcoholic beverage authorities of the United States | |
|---|---|
| Federal authorities: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau | Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Defunct: Federal Alcohol Administration |
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| State authorities: Alabama*: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board | Alaska: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board | Arizona: Department of Liquor Licenses and Control | Arkansas: Alcoholic Beverage Control Division | California: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Colorado: Liquor Enforcement Division | Connecticut: Liquor Division | Delaware: Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission | Florida: Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco | Georgia: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Unit | Idaho*: Alcoholic Beverage Control and Idaho State Liquor Dispensary | Illinois: Liquor Control Commission | Indiana: Alcoholic and Tobacco Commission | Iowa*: Alcoholic Beverages Division | Kansas: Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Kentucky: Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Louisiana: Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control | Maine*: Bureau of Liquor Enforcement | Maryland: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Bureau | Massachusetts: Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission | Michigan*: Liquor Control Commission | Minnesota: Liquor Control Division | Mississippi*: Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Missouri: Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control | Montana*: Liquor Licensing | Nebraska: Liquor Control Commission | Nevada: Department of Taxation | New Hampshire*: Liquor Commission | New Jersey: Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control | New Mexico: Alcohol and Gaming Division | New York: Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control, State Liquor Authority | North Carolina*: Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission | North Dakota: Alcohol Beverage Control | Ohio*: Division of Liquor Control | Oklahoma: Alcoholic Beverage Law Enforcement Commission | Oregon*: Liquor Control Commission | Pennsylvania*: Liquor Control Board | Rhode Island: Liquor Control Administration | South Carolina: Alcoholic Beverage Licensing | South Dakota: Special Tax Division | Tennessee: Department of Revenue | Texas: Alcoholic Beverage Commission | Utah*: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Vermont*: Department of Liquor Control | Virginia*: Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control | Washington*: Liquor Control Board | West Virginia: Alcohol Beverage Control Administration | Wisconsin: Department of Tax and Revenue | Wyoming: Department of Revenue | |
| Territorial authorities: District of Columbia: Alcoholic Beverage Control Board | |
| Local authorities: Hawaii County, Hawaii: Office of Liquor Control | City and County of Honolulu: Liquor Commission | Kauai County, Hawaii: Department of Liquor Control | Maui County, Hawaii: Department of Liquor Control | Montgomery County, Maryland*: Department of Liquor Control
An * indicates an alcoholic beverage control state or county. |
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