Andrew Travers nominated as next head of BATFE

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The Examiner has an excellent collection of many links detailing the past history of Travers, the special agent in charge of the Chicago field office of the ATF.

Suffice it to say that the Brady Campaign will be very pleased with this nomination.

 

[ClydeFrog]

ATF or BATFE?.....

I don't understand why so many people use the term; BATFE.
The ATF is a part of the Dept of Justice(DoJ). They refer to themselves as ATF on their own government website; www.ATF.gov .
Now the full name is in fact Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives but if they do not say BATFE why do so many others do it?

 

[kraigwy]

The ATF is a part of the Dept of Justice(DoJ).

No Sir, the ATF is part of the Treasury Dept, not the Justice Dept.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

No Sir, the ATF is part of the Treasury Dept, not the Justice Dept

The same legislation that created the Department of Homeland Security moved the ATF/BATFE to the Department of Justice. So they are now under the DoJ.

 

[jmortimer]

DOJ - ATF

 

[thesheepdog]

Oh ****E!!!!

 

[Standing Wolf]

Don't follow the link to the article unless you've got a strong stomach. It's another case of hateful leftist extremists failing in the legislatures and courts, and therefore trying to subvert the bureaucracy.

 

[pichon]

Just be grateful that the ATF or BATFE or whomever they are, are part of the executive and there for in charge of enforcement and are not involved in the legislative process. I am confident that the new congress will block all incoming restrictions on the 2A anyway. Two years down and I am surprised really, at the lack of attempts to pass a Brady type piece of legislation. We just have to wait out the next 2 years and we will be fine, not that I am that worried.

As long as you abide by the laws, which I do, the BATF should not be a problem. Just make sure that you stay out of the legal grey-areas.

 

[KLRANGL]

Just when I was having a good day too...

Pichon, while the ATF cannot enact new laws, they can (and have) change how those laws are interpreted and enforced.

 

[sakeneko]

Pichon, while the ATF cannot enact new laws, they can (and have) change how those laws are interpreted and enforced.

Exactly. :-/ I'm *very* leery of having this guy in charge of the ATF, and I'm not one of the conservatives here either.

 

[pichon]

Pichon, while the ATF cannot enact new laws, they can (and have) change how those laws are interpreted and enforced.

That is why I said to stay out of the legal grey area. Even if they enforce unfairly, the judiciary will take care of it and exonerate you if it really is on the up and up.

 

[DaleA]

Even if they enforce unfairly, the judiciary will take care of it and exonerate you if it really is on the up and up.

This is true pichon. It's how our legal system was set up and I'm all in favor of it. That said, I'm always frustrated that a difference in the interpretation of a law could get you detained (read locked up) and force you to spend money for bail, lawyer fees etc.

I want our laws to be clear cut and understandable by everybody, which, as pichon stated is the job of our senators and representatives in the legislative branch.

 

[stevelyn]

Even if they enforce unfairly, the judiciary will take care of it and exonerate you if it really is on the up and up.

Really? Ever hear of David Olofson? How about those folks in Waco?

I have absolutely no confidence in the federal judiciary of exonerating anyone put in the BATFEces' crosshairs.

You can't make just decision when the govt agency taking enforcement action has a history of lying under oath and manufacturing evidence.

 

[thesheepdog]

You can't make just decision when the govt agency taking enforcement action has a history of lying under oath and manufacturing evidence.

Very true! You can't be ignorant of this!

I have absolutely no confidence in the federal judiciary of exonerating anyone put in the BATFEces' crosshairs.

Me either. They will do whatever they please.

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

That is why I said to stay out of the legal grey area.

This is an agency that wrote an official legal opinion saying that a 6" shoestring was a machinegun for legal purposes and stood by that opinion for several years until it sunk in just how ridiculous that letter was. I agree that you want to stay out of legal grey areas with the ATF; but it isn't quite as easy as you make it sound.

Even if they enforce unfairly, the judiciary will take care of it and exonerate you if it really is on the up and up.

Winning your case in court is like the way the Russians beat Napoleon and Hitler - it is winning in the same sense that burning all your factories and fields and retreating to the Urals to let the winter kill off a bunch of Germans is winning. Ultimately, you'll succeed; but it isn't going to be easy or cost-free.

I think the important thing here is that head of ATF is now a position requiring the confirmation of the Senate. So, short of a recess appointment, there is still a chance this doesn't go through.

 

[demigod]

Really? Ever hear of David Olofson?

Isn't Olofson that idiot from WI who put an A2 burst kit in his Oly and tried to claim it fired full auto because of a malfunction???

 

[demigod]

in charge of the Chicago field office of the ATF.

I read "Chicago" and knew this was a bad thing.

 

[ClydeFrog]

US DoJ; CNN story about the ATF...

If you roll over to CNN's archives, you can review the big story they did about a ATF's special agent's disputes-labor issues with the upper mgmt.
The ATF seems to be a hotbed of fraud/abuse/waste. The CNN item stated the ATF gets more citizen complaints than the FBI & DEA combined!

The new ATF dir should pull this LE agency together and improve conditions but I highly doubt that will occur.

 

[demigod]

Oh yeah. There was that scandal about ATF agents over billing for worked hours in Iraq.

 

[Brian Pfleuger]

The ATF seems to be a hotbed of fraud/abuse/waste.

You could insert the appropriate acronym for ANY government agency and still have a correct assertion.