History of the ATF: How the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Became Corrupt & Abusive

In today’s episode of the Resistance Library podcast, Molly and Sam discuss the ATF and the Bureau’s controversial history of corruption and abuse. Learn more about the history of the ATF at Ammo.com: https://ammo.com/articles/atf-....history-bureau-of-al

For $20 off your $200 purchase, go to https://ammo.com/podcast (a special deal for our listeners).

Follow Sam Jacobs on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SamJacobs45

And check out our sponsor, Libertas Bella, for all of your favorite 2nd amendment shirts at https://libertasbella.com/

It’s unlikely that there is a single federal alphabet organization less popular among the readership of this website than the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. These are the people who gave us both the Siege at Ruby Ridge and the Siege of Waco. What’s more, they may well be engaged in an entirely unconstitutional exercise: monitoring and patrolling the gun ownership of law-abiding citizens.

There’s also a solid case to be made that the ATF is a rogue organization, the most corrupt of the federal alphabet agencies. This can be seen through a number of scandals beginning with Ruby Ridge, threading through the siege at Mount Carmel in Waco, and continuing to the notorious “Fast and Furious” scandal.

While firearms owners, weapons enthusiasts and Second Amendment advocates might have a special bone to pick with the ATF, we believe that all freedom-loving Americans should be concerned about the overreach, lawlessness and lack of accountability in this organization. Roman poet Juvenal once posed an important (and famous) question about powerful justice officers: “Quis custodiet ipsos custodies?” – Who is to guard the guardians?

All told, there are over 20,000 firearms laws and regulations on the books at the state and federal level. Many of these contradict each other or are written with a lot of room for interpretation. Gun owners and gun dealers are easy prey for a corrupt and lawless federal agency that wants to twist its arms outside the bounds of the law.

It’s also worth considering what overreach and lack of accountability other federal organizations are responsible for that we don’t know about, simply because they do not have the same spotlight on them as the ATF – a reminder that the scandals mentioned above are just the ones that we know about.

We recommend reading this article in concert with our other articles on the ATF: Waco, Ruby Ridge and Fast and Furious. Each of these contains familiar tropes with regard to the ATF: Entrapment, “lost” evidence, a total lack of accountability, aggressive policing tactics where discretion would probably have saved lives, and a vengeful manner of doing business.

Have a listen to hear Molly and Sam discuss the ATF and the Bureau’s controversial history of corruption and abuse. Sam explains its beginnings in the Treasury Department during Prohibition to how the agency came to manage firearms and explosives today. He and Molly discuss some of the ATF’s notable overreaches of government power, including Ruby Ridge and the Siege at Waco. The two talk about attempts to contain the ATF and where it stands today. If you want to know more about the Bureau’s history, check out Sam’s article at Ammo.com’s Resistance Library. 

Check out our full Resistance Library by visiting us at Ammo.com. Follow us on social media. And most importantly, be sure to subscribe to our channel right here on YouTube for more high-quality videos to help you stay armed, both physically and philosophically.

Helpful Links:
- History of the ATF: How the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms Became Corrupt & Abusive: https://ammo.com/articles/atf-....history-bureau-of-al
- Siege at Ruby Ridge: The Forgotten History of the ATF Shootout That Started a Militia Movement: https://ammo.com/articles/ruby....-ridge-siege-forgott
- The Waco Siege: What Happened When the Fed Laid Siege to the Branch Davidian Compound: https://ammo.com/articles/waco....-siege-branch-davidi
- Operation Fast and Furious: The Forgotten History of the ATF's Notorious Gunwalking Scandal: https://ammo.com/articles/oper....ation-fast-and-furio
- Policing For Profit: How Civil Asset Forfeiture Has Perverted American Law Enforcement: https://ammo.com/articles/civi....l-asset-forfeiture-p
- The Resistance Library: https://ammo.com/articles
- Molly Carter: https://ammo.com/our-team#molly-carter
- Sam Jacobs: https://ammo.com/our-team#sam-jacobs

#ResistanceLibrary #HistoryoftheATF #ATF