Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) continued his fight to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) by using an X post on Wednesday to remind Americans, “The ATF is not your friend.”
Burlison’s post also stated, “A free country doesn’t need a gun control enforcement agency”:
The ATF is not your friend.
— Eric Burlison (@EricBurlison) April 2, 2025
Its job is infringement.
A free country doesn’t need a gun control enforcement agency.
End it. pic.twitter.com/SawmKKPOm3
His post represents the most recent in a long line of statements calling for the federal agency to be abolished.
On November 25, Breitbart News reported that Burlison called the ATF “a disaster,” explaining that “for several decades they’ve been a disaster agency [which has] been violating the Second Amendment.”
On January 13, Breitbart News noted Burlison’s claims that the ATF uses tax money to violate Americans’ rights. In a post to X, he wrote, “The ATF uses your tax dollars to violate your constitutional rights. Does that sound like freedom to you?”
On February 22, 2025, he used another post to X to shine a light on legislation designed to do away with the agency, saying, “H.R. 221: ‘H.R. 221 will Abolish The ATF. It’s that simple. Eliminate this redundant agency that consistently violates Second Amendment rights.’”
Burlison reposted a message from the American Firearms Association, which said:
The ATF, a symbol of tyranny, responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans. Used to harass, bankrupt & terrorize hundreds of thousands of Americans. It should be torn to the ground NOW, not in a few years. We can’t wait for the political winds to change. ABOLISH THE ATF!
On January 17, Breitbart News pointed out that House cosponsors for Burlison’s bill to “Abolish the ATF” were lining up and joining the call to do away with the ATF altogether.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio, a member of Gun Owners of America, a Pulsar Night Vision pro-staffer, and the director of global marketing for Lone Star Hunts. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal in 2010 and has a Ph.D. in Military History. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly:
