By Dave Workman
Editor-in-Chief
Robert Cekada, director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives—an agency with a reputation for rogue behavior under previous administrations—has written an 853-word Op-Ed for The Hill declaring that “most coverage has inaccurately portrayed the scope and intent” of a proposed regulatory reform package.
Among gun rights activists, reform is considered long overdue, especially after the Biden administration literally weaponized the agency to ramp up its enforcement practices which seemed more aimed at penalizing honest gun owners and dealers than violent criminals and illegal gun traffickers. As Cekada puts it, “Having clear, updated rules would prevent abusive enforcement practices — for example, shutting down legitimate firearms businesses for minor clerical infractions, which occurred during the prior administration — and allow ATF to focus attention where it belongs: fighting violent crime.”
He corrects misinformation about how the proposed reforms will deal with gun ownership and mental illness. Cekada goes through the history of how decades-old rules affected military veterans’ Second Amendment rights, reminding readers that Congress stopped agencies from automatically stripping veterans of their gun rights, so the proposed ATF reforms would bring agency regulations “in line with that congressional judgment.”
He also clarifies the scope of “online firearm sales,” explaining how “Some have inaccurately described this as weakening background checks or being done to benefit a particular business interest. All false.”
How to Prevent ATF from Targeting Innocent Americans … Again
“ATF,” Cekada writes, “has had no engagement with any retailer in developing it and has proposed a process that would strengthen safeguards.”
In one paragraph toward the end of his Op-Ed, Cekada zeroes in on how the previous administration targeted gun show enthusiasts in an effort to discourage private sales or trades at weekend gun shows, which have long been a thorn in the side of anti-gunners because they provide a venue in which gun owners can gather. Gun shows, which have been portrayed by gun prohibitionists as “arms bazaars for criminals,” are largely social events which still must comply with local and federal laws.
Cekada explains, “(T)he notion that ATF’s proposal to repeal the Engaged in the Business rule is gutting background checks is also false. In the 2024 rule, the previous administration expanded the definition of who qualifies as a licensed dealer, effectively broadening background checks by administrative regulation. Not only has a federal judge fully vacated the rule nationwide, arguing that it was legally flawed, but ATF’s analysis determined that the rule not only failed to increase the number of background checks conducted or federal licensees, but actually decreased the number of licensee applications.”
A law enforcement veteran with more than 30 years of experience, Cekada was confirmed earlier this year as ATF director at an event during which the reform package was announced.
