Texas Rep. Roy: ATF Is Administrative Tyranny
During a House Judiciary Committee hearing Thursday, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) stressed concerns about Joe Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) enactment of a controversial pistol brace regulation. He argued that this decision, made by a bureaucratic body, threatens to turn millions of Americans into felons in pursuit of a radical leftist agenda.
Roy’s concerns stem from the fact that the ATF has seemingly taken on a legislative role without any accountability to the American people. He invited Amy Swearer of the Heritage Foundation to comment at the hearing. Swearer pointed out that the U.S. Constitution separates the powers of the executive and legislative branches, ensuring that Congress, as the lawmaking body, remains accountable to the people.
Swearer supported Roy’s view that the ATF’s actions were unconstitutional and unlawful. She emphasized that such regulatory overreach infringes on the rights of Americans without providing them any recourse to recall ATF appointees. In response, Roy asserted that Congress must check the ATF’s bureaucratic infringements on Second Amendment rights.
By highlighting the potential dangers of bureaucratic tyranny, Roy advocates for preserving the nation’s foundation as a land governed by laws, not by executive edicts.
However, not everyone shares Roy’s perspective. During the same hearing, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee praised the ATF for what she described as its long-standing role in protecting American communities from violent crime and enforcing federal laws. She argued that the ATF has been vital in ensuring firearms are not in the wrong hands. She expressed disbelief that a hearing was even taking place to criticize the ATF’s regulatory gun control efforts.
Jackson reiterated the common Democratic talking point that “more guns lead to more shootings” while claiming the ATF is needed to ensure “compliance with federal law, especially when manufacturers and dealers attempt to circumvent regulations.”
The ATF’s actions in enacting the pistol brace regulation constitute an overreach of federal power that infringes on the rights of American citizens without proper legislative oversight or accountability. Roy’s call for greater oversight and adherence to the constitutional separation of powers serves as a reminder that the United States is a nation governed by laws, not bureaucratic edicts.
