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Gun Owners of America is celebrating what it calls another shot across the bow of the ATF.
Congress and President Trump just signed the latest federal funding bill into law, and tucked inside is a $40 million cut to the ATF’s budget.
It’s not the sweeping rollback some in the House originally pushed for, but GOA says it’s part of a bigger trend: stopping the agency’s growth, and shrinking it where possible.
According to GOA, the ATF’s budget steadily climbed from roughly $1.4 billion in 2019 to about $1.75 billion by 2022. The Biden administration later requested as much as $1.875 billion, putting the agency on track to top $2 billion annually. That didn’t happen.
Instead, GOA points to a historic $122 million cut in 2023. Roughly $200 million below what the administration requested, followed by funding being held around $1.66 billion the next year rather than increased again. With this latest $40 million reduction, GOA argues the tide has clearly shifted.
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The group says the impact goes beyond raw numbers. Federal employee pay raises and inflation mean flat or shrinking budgets force agencies to prioritize. The new funding bill also reportedly directs more ATF resources toward speeding up eForms processing, which GOA says limits manpower available for enforcement initiatives.
GOA frames the cuts as proof that slashing ATF funding doesn’t trigger the crime spike critics warn about. The organization notes that violent crime rates have declined in recent years while ATF funding has remained flat or dropped.
The long-term goal? GOA says this is step one toward abolishing the ATF entirely.
Whether that’s politically realistic remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: after years of steady growth, the ATF’s budget is no longer untouchable. And the gun rights movement is taking a victory lap.
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is a seasoned outdoorsman, lifelong hunter, and the kind of guy who’d rather track whitetails than scroll social media. As an editor for GunsAmerica, he’s got a sharp eye for spotting both solid gear and bad gun laws. Whether he’s deep in the woods or deep in editorial deadlines, Larry brings a no-nonsense, tell-it-like-it-is approach to firearms, hunting, and the great American tradition of self-reliance. If there’s a hot debate on gun rights or the latest in hunting tech, you can bet Larry’s got an opinion—and it’s probably backed up with both facts and field experience.
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The ATF was created to enforce tax laws on tobacco and alcohol, and later firearm regulations decades ago culminating into what we know now as a bloated, power hungry, no longer needed – waste of taxpayer money.
Any and all duties of this agency should be shifted to the FBI and the ATF agency as we know it should be immediately disbanded and eliminated.
Or, as a last resort, strip the ATF of all LE powers and enforcement and reduce it to processing FFL dealer paperwork. It has become a political advocate for the DNC and over exceeds its authority. Eliminate the NFA restrictions on everything short of machine guns and turn those duties over to the FBI or DOJ.
I just don’t have a problem with the ATF. I don’t mind rules, or their enforcement when they make sense and “most“ of their rules do make sense, most. I don’t think everyone has the right to own a gun. When you’ve taken someone else’s rights by committing a felony then you don’t deserve the rights the constitution supposedly gives you. I’m all for background checks, but if we shrink or get rid of the ATF then you’re just going to have to transfer that money to the FBI for enforcement. And please don’t tell me you’re going to turn that responsibility over to the local police who beg bar and steel from the little fish to get the bigger fish. I’m all for removing guns from someone who has a proven history of domestic abuse or violent crimes. The problem you run into is when these criminals are let out of prison because they have “paid their debt to society” then where do we stand on giving them back their 2A rights. Some people learn and go on the straight and narrow and some groups of people have a high rate of recidivism. I’m not sure how much we have to give to certain people to get their head-n-ass wired straight, but apparently we’ve been going about it all wrong because the war on poverty just doesn’t work.
I don’t think everyone should be able to own a fully automatic weapon, a tank, a rocket launcher, destructive and explosive devices. We can’t get through one 4th of July celebration without some idiot fucking themselves or others, up. And you want to give them access to explosives and destructive devices? There is no doubt the ATF playbook needs a rewrite and we need to get some cold hard facts on crime statistics and revamp how they are reported. The last thing I’m gonna do is listen to the opinion of yet another moron with a podcast.
i am all for abolishing the NFA completely and ATF in its current state
Abolish theATF all together and redirect that money to ICE
Hopefully they disband the ATF soon.
maybe they will see the light and start doing their jobs like stop the real criminals and not push agendas!!!
Careful, Paul… you’re beginning to sound optimistic! 😁