Sullivan resigns as acting ATFE director

I ain't saying it was wrong to oppose his nomination, cuz I would be wrong I I did. But, I wonder if at some point in the not to far off future, we might have cause to wish we had lost that battle ...

You are not wrong. He leaves on Jan. 20 the same as Bush. Maybe he will lose his job as U.S. Attorney as well. Then he can go back to handling divorce cases.

You are not wrong. He leaves on Jan. 20 the same as Bush. Maybe he will lose his job as U.S. Attorney as well. Then he can go back to handling divorce cases.

Yea, mixed feeling here also. I’m not sure it could be any worst. My boss just stepped down. He was a former marine colonel trying to lead an academic department. That didn’t go so well. Something about academic freedom vs. chain of command. But I do have some concerns as to his replacement. I have to wait until the end of the academic year.

I pray that we don’t return to the Ruby Ridge and Waco era. Maybe O will merge FBI and ATF??

"I pray that we don’t return to the Ruby Ridge and Waco era. Maybe O will merge FBI and ATF??"

I sure hope not. People generally respect the FBI as a professional organization whereas BATFE is looked upon far less favorably. Merging ATF and FBI would give ATF credibility.

Sullivan was no friend to gunnys and neither was W. Good riddance to both. I'm embracing the hope and certainly the CHANGE.

Sullivan was the worst kind of person to be in either job. Glad he is gone.

He was only a closer that did what his sales managers told him to do. I still believe that Bush picked him in a quid pro quo to Kennedy to get Kennedy behind funding the war effort that Bush wanted.

Merging the BATFE into the FBI would be great. The FBI is way more professional, and deals with REAL criminals and REAL threats. Enforcing silly and nonproductive technical firearm paperwork violations and harassing FFL holders would be a much lower priority for the FBI, and the FBI is far less likely to engage in a WACO type incident. This would also put the funding for former BATFE expendatures under the FBI's control, which means the former BATFE agents are less likely to be allocated combat helicopters and tanks that they don't need (those funds would likely be re-allocated to genuine law enforcement activity). Also, firearm inspection procedures would likely be standardized and documented when they are done under the FBI. Putting former BATFE agents into the FBI system is bound to increase their accountability and oversight as well. The BATFE would go from being an independent agency to a minor and relatively unimportant division of the FBI. I don't see how putting the BATFE under the FBI would make anything worse, but could make things much better. I could be wrong on this but that is how I see it now.

The problem with the BATFE is that they are not one agency. They are a revenue agency, collecting excise taxes on alcohol & tobacco products. They are a regulatory agency managing dealers in several different types of businesses; guns being one of them. Finally, they are an enforcement agency tasked to apprehend & prosecute people who don’t pay their excise taxes or violate various sales restrictions. It’s no wonder the bunch is screwed up.


The solution, then, is to divide up the various parts between appropriate agencies.


The IRS can easily handle excise taxes. They’re already dealing with the same people as businesses and individuals. Adding excise taxes here might even improve bureaucratic efficiency by reducing the number of agencies collecting taxes.


The regulatory side is problematic. The two choices here are the IRS or the Department of Commerce. The IRS is already dealing with gun dealers on the tax side but this sort of regulatory oversight is foreign to the IRS charter. The Department of Commerce is already involved in the firearms trade.


There are several branches of federal law enforcement that could take over the law enforcement side but it should probably go to the FBI. For all their failings, the FBI does run a reasonably tight ship in regards to law enforcement, evidence gathering & testimony; i.e. an FBI expert witness can be reasonably expected to know something about the case and the evidence. In addition, the FBI doesn't need the "Show Raids" to build up their bureaucratic ego. Nor does it send out bureaucrats to do law enforcement work.


Carving up the BATFE would be an excellent opportunity to clarify some of the legislation & regulations that have accumulated over the years. You know? Actually put in some clear cut regulations with attendant appeals processes. It would also be an excellent opportunity to lose a number of the laws regarding silencers, short barreled rifles and maybe even machineguns. The simple measure would be prosecuting convicted felons in possession of firearms.