The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is the federal law enforcement agency charged with enforcing laws related to, among other things, constitutionally protected Second Amendment activities.
Unfortunately for gun owners, the ATF’s reach often stretches beyond its intended mission and creeps into the infringement of fundamental rights.
Federal agency accused of illegal breach of GOA member’s privacy
A prominent Second Amendment advocacy group fired a volley this month against the powerful agency’s alarming overreach that affected one of its members.
Gun Owners of America (GOA) formally requested that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General (OIG) probe recent actions by the ATF and DOJ that constitute a serious breach of privacy.
Group calls for immediate investigation into possible wrongdoing
GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt accused DOJ attorneys representing the ATF of purposefully disclosing personal information on one of its members in proceedings in Silencer Shop Foundation v. BATFE.
“The sensitivity of this information cannot be [overstated], nor can the severity of DOJ and ATF’s breach of personal privacy and possible violations of federal law,” Pratt asserted in the organization’s request.
He called for a “prompt, transparent, and complete investigation of the matter.”
Among the infractions were the release of multiple ATF forms containing the individual’s personal information. The agency did not stop there, adding exactly how many National Firearms Act (NFA) related items the GOA member possessed.
Critics would undoubtedly question the severity of the information release, but that misses the point entirely. Under federal law, NFA forms are not to be disclosed to the public, a fact Second Amendment advocates have repeatedly accused the DOJ of.
This is nothing less than illegal “doxing” of gun owners, putting their personal information in public and letting the chips fall where they may. The GOA request must be promptly acted on to prevent such breaches in the future.
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