Washington, D.C., April 20, 2022 - Today, Brady was encouraged by reports that President Joe Biden intends to name a new interim director to lead the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This action would bring renewed urgency to ATF’s mission and increased attention to the role that ATF plays in preventing crime and gun violence, while President Biden’s nominee to lead ATF is considered by the Senate. This interim action can help recharge the effort to modernize ATF which is central to President Biden’s comprehensive strategy to prevent gun crime.Brady President Kris Brown stated:
“Reports that President Biden will install a new acting director to helm ATF while the Senate considers his nominee is welcome news and highlights a critical regulatory approach that Brady has been calling for– looking at how the levers of government can help to stop gun trafficking to prevent gun violence. A strong ATF is essential to that effort, and a new acting director will catalyze that work and help to enact President Biden’s comprehensive strategy to prevent gun crime.At the same time, Brady urges the Senate to confirm President Biden’s nominee, Steve Dettelbach, to lead ATF. ATF’s important regulatory and enforcement role in overseeing the gun industry, as highlighted by Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project, cannot be overstated. Steven Dettelbach is a proven leader in law enforcement and a prudent choice to steward and modernize ATF so that it can enforce the nation’s laws and keep our communities safe.”
About the ATF:The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is an agency within the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for enforcing federal firearms laws and regulating the gun industry, with the ultimate goal of ensuring the continued safety of the American people. ATF has been without a Senate-confirmed director since 2015. If confirmed, Steve Dettelbach would be only the second Senate-confirmed Director in the Bureau’s history.About Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project:Beginning in 2017, Brady filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to obtain federal inspection reports where ATF took administrative action against gun stores cited for violating the law. Ultimately when the records were not produced by ATF, Brady took action in court to force production and has received over 2,212 reports. Brady’s Gun Store Transparency Project, found at GunStoreTransparency.org, makes these reports available to the public, where users can visually explore this data, viewing documents by geographic location, by violation type, and by year. This database is the most comprehensive and detailed collection of ATF inspection reports ever released publicly, and will continue to grow as Brady obtains new reports from ATF.
Brady has one powerful mission — to unite all Americans against gun violence. We work across Congress, the courts, and our communities with over 90 grassroots chapters, bringing together young and old, red and blue, and every shade of color to find common ground in common sense. In the spirit of our namesakes Jim and Sarah Brady, we have fought for over 45 years to take action, not sides, and we will not stop until this epidemic ends. It’s in our hands.
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