Today’s the day the White House’s Office of Management and Budget was supposed to give the ATF the go-ahead to implement a rule requiring gun dealers on the Mexican border to report bulk sales of semiautomatic weapons to the feds, a plan intended to combat the trafficking of such firearms south of the border.
But the Obama administration says it needs more time.
“ATF’s information collection request is still under review,” an administration official told TPM.
So how are the feds trying to stop straw purchases in the meantime? With an afterschool-special-style public service announcement, of course! ATF headquarters posted a series of videos on its YouTube account called “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy.”
Check out the video, published on the ATF’s account a few weeks ago:
Since ATF set the deadline on their request for the emergency rule, OMB can still approve it. But the rule has faced opposition from the big gun rights groups.
“RED ALERT: OBAMA CREATING NATIONAL GUN REGISTRY!” the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said in an e-mail to supporters. “NOW HE’S COMING FOR YOUR SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS.”
Gun control advocates, as TPM has reported, are not happy with the Obama administration’s inaction on gun control issues. The NRA is opposed to the administration’s nominee to head ATF, making it almost impossible for him to be confirmed.
And though he was reportedly behind the White House’s resistance to the ATF’s plan to combat gun trafficking, former Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel is now touting his gun control credentials from the Clinton era in a new political ad in his race for Chicago mayor.
Ryan J. Reilly
Ryan J. Reilly is a D.C.-based reporter for TPM. Prior to joining TPM, he worked for a news website covering the Justice Department and was a researcher for Bloomberg News. His email address is ryan(at)talkingpointsmemo.com.
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