Source: Breitbart | VIEW ORIGINAL POST ==>
The naming of Kash Patel to the position of ATF acting director is spurring optimism among gun rights groups that the ATF will be reined in, at the least, and perhaps done away altogether.
Breitbart News reported that Patel was sworn in as acting director on Monday. National Association for Gun Rights president Dudley Brown spoke with Breitbart News thereafter, saying Patel at the helm has “put the rogues at ATF on notice: you can’t trample the Constitution.”
He added, “Patel will mind the store until there’s a permanent director, who hopefully will dismantle the ATF.”
Brown’s take is not unlike those of numerous other leaders in the gun rights movement.
For example, Aidan Johnston, Gun Owners of America’s director of federal affairs, told Breitbart News, “GOA is thrilled to have a patriot like Kash Patel as the acting director of the ATF. We hope to work with Director Patel to undo all the unconstitutional Biden-era ATF rules, delete the illegal gun registry, and hold this rogue federal agency accountable to the Second Amendment until the day it is abolished.”
Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation, told the Washington Examiner, “Patel and [Attorney General Pam] Bondi will have a great impact at ATF and FBI when it comes to Second Amendment issues. Great for gun owners. Biden anti-gun rights policies will bite the dust.”
He added, “I expect that they will side with gun rights groups in current gun rights cases already in the courts. Reversing positions in both the courts and administration actions are going to have a major positive impact for gun ownership.”
On February 23, 2025, Breitbart News noted that Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) is staying on message with his push to “abolish the ATF.” Numerous House members are lining up behind him to co-sponsor legislation which would do away with the agency.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly: aw********@br*******.com.
