Saturday, July 2, 2011

Don’t blame the NRA for the ATF’s weakness

The June 26 editorial “A better gun agency” reported that the Obama administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) surveilled straw gun purchases that took place in Phoenix and then “lost track of” 2,500 such weapons, “some of which have now been traced to criminal activity south of the border.” Despite this scandal, The Post editorial board absurdly concluded that the ATF needs more power and that National Rifle Association (NRA) members are to blame for the ATF’s weakness because they’re too “paranoid” about losing their Second Amendment rights.

Most reasonable people would process these facts and alarming lack of competence and conclude that the ATF needs less power and that the NRA should be commended for its vigilant pursuit of the truth surrounding the ATF’s gun-running operation. But not The Post.

As for gun owner “paranoia,” there would be less reason for worry if The Post ceased its anti-Second Amendment campaign. After all, the paper railed against the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision affirming Americans’ individual right to keep and bear arms, and it advocated for the draconian laws that robbed D.C. residents of their Second Amendment rights.

Chris W. Cox, Fairfax
The writer is executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action.

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