‘Gun Violence’ Memorial at ATF Headquarters Removed

The ATF has a long and antagonistic relationship with lawful gun owners. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is. While the ATF is supposed to focus on illegal gun sales and illegal gun possession, among other things, they constantly harass the law-abiding.

And the truth of the matter is that this is a law-enforcement agency with a political bias against the Second Amendment.

One example of that is a “memorial” at the ATF headquarters with photos of victims of so-called gun violence. This is the exact same approach that anti-gun activists take to push gun control, which has made it incredibly problematic for a lot of people.

As a signal that this ATF is at least slightly different from what came before, though, that memorial is now gone.

The Trump administration has removed a memorial honoring victims of gun violence from the main atrium of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, taking down about 120 portraits hung during the Biden administration.

Justice Department spokesman Chad Gilmartin said that the decision to remove the portraits was not political and that officials are considering different ways to honor victims.

“The ATF will continue to honor the memory of all victims of violent crime while at the same time preserving the rights of law-abiding Americans,” Gilmartin said, referring to the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Former ATF director Steven Dettelbach – who was appointed by President Joe Biden – created the memorial at the agency’s Northeast Washington headquarters last April to remind employees of the human toll of gun violence. The display includes photos of police officers killed by gunfire, children slain in mass school shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, and Parkland, Florida, and other victims.

A nearby kiosk told the stories of each, and many of the victims’ families would visit the memorial.

“The ‘Faces of Gun Violence’ exhibit is a permanent reminder of what ATF comes to work to do every day – a reminder of why agents risk their lives and why everyone at ATF dedicates their careers to this mission: to honor the fallen and protect the living,” Dettelbech said at a ceremony unveiling the memorial last year. “This exhibit both honors and tells the stories of the victims of firearms violence. And it reminds us to keep front and center the lives, the stories, and the courage of those who have been impacted by firearms violence.”

…

Gilmartin said the agency, which is part of the Justice Department and is responsible for regulating and tracking guns, wants to find a different way to honor the victims.

I have a thought on how to do that.

How about–and I’m just throwing this out there for consideration, mind you–the ATF focuses on catching criminals who steal guns and sell them on the black market instead of harassing lawful gun stores and gun owners.

I know that the previous zero-tolerance policy in place at the ATF regarding gun stores is dead and gone, but there are still a lot of people checking every nook and cranny at FFL holders’ places of business just the same. There are very, very few involved in the illicit gun trade, so this use of resources seems like a waste of time to me.

So, if you want to honor the victims of so-called gun violence, how about you go after the people responsible for it? How about you focus on how they get their guns and leave the rest of us alone?

You know, just to shake things up a bit.