Joint Hearing Wrap Up: Biden Administration has Weaponized the ATF to Target Law-Abiding Americans, Turn Them into Criminals

WASHINGTON—The Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs and the Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance held a joint hearing titled, “ATF’s Assault on the Second Amendment: When is Enough Enough?” Subcommittee members discussed with expert witnesses how the ATF under the Biden Administration has upended guidance that law-abiding gun owners have relied upon for over a decade, potentially subjecting individuals and small businesses to felony prison sentences and exorbitant fines if they do not comply with a new final rule. Subcommittee members also discussed how the ATF in recent years has operated without congressional approval and devoted substantial time and resources to pursue a left-wing agenda targeting lawful gun-owning Americans exercising their Second Amendment rights.

Key Takeaways:

The Biden Administration has weaponized the ATF to target law-abiding gun owners through regulation and Congress must step in to prevent this regulatory overreach.

• Amy Swearer—Senior Legal Fellow at Heritage Foundation—testified how the actions of the ATF are directed by the Administration guiding them. The Biden Administration’s regulatory attacks on law-abiding gun owners warrants congressional intervention to address its unchecked power: “ATF is not inherently good or inherently bad. It depends in large part on who controls it and the ends for which its power is exerted…Congress should not undermine ATF’s legitimate efforts to enforce federal laws and stop violent criminals but it should absolutely step in to restrict ATF’s discretion as to where it should focus its efforts and how it should wield its vast regulatory powers.”

• Matthew Larosiere—Partner at Zermay-Larosiere Law Group—discussed how the ATF’s flip flopping of enforcement affecting lawful gun ownership has unleashed a torrent of legal issues which have harmed Americans for simply exercising their Second Amendment rights: “My experience has been representing individuals and small businesses who have been caught up in some of the flip-flopery that the ATF has engaged in. Representing individuals and small businesses who have had their lives shattered, their employees left jobless because of frankly innocent omissions that were characterized as intentional misconduct by the ATF. What I’ve seen ATF doing in these prosecutions is extremely concerning. The threats imposed by ATF’s overreach are not theoretical, they are very real.”

The ATF’s reversal of longstanding practice will force lawful gun owners to forfeit, destroy, or register their stabilizing brace and will subject millions of Americans to possible felony liability and exorbitant fines if they don’t comply.

• Alex Bosco—Founder and Inventor of the Stabilizing Brace—outlined how ATF’s final rule regulating his stabilizing brace, which was initially invented for disabled Americans, is unjust and targets law-abiding citizens who have closely followed ATF guidance for years and will actually make pistol shooting less safe: “The effects of this change are enormous, according to the ATF, millions of who have followed the ATF’s advice for the past decade have unbeknownst to anyone been committing felony crimes. And ATF almost certainly underestimates thew scope of the impact of the rule. The effects of ATF’s rule is to put out of business the industry that ATF itself fostered for ten years and punish consumers who relied on ATF’s prior decisions. Ironically, this rule eliminates an important and widely adopted safety feature that will arguably make the sport of pistol shooting less safe.”

Member Highlights:

Subcommittee Chairman Fallon (R-Texas) discussed the hypocrisy of liberal lawmakers pushing to take lawfully obtained firearms from American citizens while surrounding themselves with armed security.


Subcommittee Chairman Fallon: “I find it very hypocritical that some Members of Congress hire armed security to protect themselves – with firearms – so firearms are ok when they protect them, but not other people.”Subcommittee Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) noted how recently the ATF has acted in an isolated fashion without consulting industry experts when passing sweeping regulation.