The millions of law-abiding Americans who have chosen to carry a concealed firearm are putting “everyone involved at risk,” the ATF announced this week in a tweet on X.
“Take a look into our world. This is a scenario @ATFWasington frequently faces when combatting violent crime and maintaining public safety. Many people attempt to conceal firearms on their person or belongings which puts everyone involved at risk. #MakeDCSafeAgain #ATF,” the ATF tweeted on X.
As you can imagine, ATF’s message received hundreds of overwhelmingly negative responses including many that are not fit to reprint.
“Concealed carry is not the issue—you are. Millions of law-abiding citizens carry concealed every single day without incident. Concealed carry saves lives. Disarming people and vilifying them on social media doesn’t,” Ammoland News posted.
Noted Second Amendment scholar and attorney Mark W. Smith asked a prominent Justice Department civil rights attorney in a tweet to “speak with the Washington ATF field office about the Second Amendment and the Bruen decision. I suspect their social media person lacks the relevant knowledge.”
Aiden Johnston, director of federal affairs for Gun Owners of America, tweeted “Try reading Heller, McDonald, Bruen, and the Second Amendment again, tyrants.” In his tweet, he added a picture of the Bruen decision.
The Firearms Policy Coalition tweeted simply: “Your existence puts everyone at risk. AMIRITE?”
“Times have changed. This isn’t 1934,” firearms trainer and author Ranjit Singh tweeted.
The ATF posted their tweet at 9:05 a.m., Thursday.
Twenty-seven hours and thirty-seven minutes later, the ATF “corrected” their tweet.
“EDIT-Take a look into our world. This is a scenario @ATF Washington frequently faces when combatting violent crime and maintaining public safety. Many CRIMINALS attempt to conceal firearms on their person or belongings which puts everyone involved at risk. #MakeDCSafeAgain,” the ATF posted.
Takeaways
Most gun owners will not buy ATF’s response, changing “Many people …” to “Many CRIMINALS …”
The reasons for this is simple: We all know too well that the ATF has never understood the massive difference between law-abiding gun owners and criminals.
To the ATF, everyone who owns a firearm is a criminal. This has become their modus operandi. They treat every single gun owner as a criminal.
If you need proof, look at the ATF’s recent history. Look at how they treated Patrick “Tate” Adamiak, Mark “Choppa” Manley, Russell Fincher or Brian Malinowski.
The ATF sent their SWAT teams to raid the homes of all four men, but not a single illegal item was found, even though Adamiak is serving a 20-year sentence for made-up crimes, and Malinowski was shot and killed in his home by ATF Agent Tyler Cowart.
That the ATF actually views concealed-carry as a crime is not a surprise. What is surprising is that no one has done anything about it, at least not yet.
It is definitely time for President Donald J. Trump to end the ATF.
This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.
About Lee Williams
Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.
I’m sure the ATF has murdered more people and dogs than all of my firearms combined have.
ATF Agents are afraid of being shot when they behave like Criminals!!!
I am not beyond repeating myself because I know that the third time I say it, it becomes true, right!!!! Let’s take facts and not ATF science fiction propaganda into play here. How many criminals that are not allowed to carry are arrested without incident. Notice in the picture they have him in cuffs, are showing the gun stuffed in his pants? He could have pulled it and shot them, but he didn’t just like the majority of criminals. Very few shoot outs occur because the criminal wants to shoot cops or be killed rather than spend time in jail.… Read more »
FATF
Cmon Patel, you were put in charge of the FBI, clean your house, not business as usual.
yes…concealed carry puts others at risk…..concealed carry by criminals!!!!!!! Lawfully armed citizens are not out there concealed carrying looking for trouble, in fact, they are praying that they never have to pull out of use that firearm in their lives, except when going to the range.
The 2A is there for a reason, and when James Madison introduced it in 1791, it was there to ensure that citizens could protect themselves, and maintain the peace and security of the free state. Shall not be infringed, not….. should not be infringed.
“Laws that forbid the carrying of arms… disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes… Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man.” – Thomas Jefferson
There should have misspelled the atf agent that killed Malinowski “Coward”; instead of Cowart.
Be dangerous. Carry concealed because surprise works both ways. The mentality shown by the atf in this article shows their true colors, they are absolutely An Ti Firearm for anyone except themselves. Isn’t that how all evil governments start!? Disarm the public. The Brits are down to outlawing prayer and pointy garden tools. Maybe spitballs are next. The world is a dangerous place and life is precious. So, defending life, someone else’s or your own, is a righteous, natural and BIBLICALLY backed ideal. The WORD of GOD tells us to be armed; Luke 22:36. The constitution guarantees us, the free… Read more »
Again, ATF blue-backs fail to be impressed with the new “extra-extended” background check. Reserving the right to distrust us anyway.