The ATF isn’t our friend. It could be, but the truth is that there have been too many years when the bureau sought to spend more time monitoring what people like you and me were doing than actually going after armed criminals and actual gun traffickers.
In fairness, going after those guys is hard, while we’re easier targets. Heaven forbid someone employed by the federal government has to actually work hard, with the notable exception of the junior enlisted in the military.
What we all would like to see is someone running the ATF who isn’t an anti-gunner on any level, who actually values our right to keep and bear arms, and will not infringe on it in that role.
Is Robert Cekada that person?
Well, some pro-gun voices are skeptical, such as David Codrea over at Firearms News:
“Simply put, ATF is an agency that ensures violent criminals are put behind bars,” Sen. Jerry Moran explained in his introduction/testimonial for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director nominee Robet Cekada, appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Feb. 6 confirmation hearing. That he was stumping for the guy is hardly surprising, because while widely regarded as “a strong proponent of Second Amendment rights, consistently voting against gun control legislation and advocating for gun owners’ rights,” he also asserts “We must redouble our efforts to enforce all existing gun laws, which are extremely effective in protecting law-abiding citizens…” How that differs from a colonist in 1775 saying “Enforce existing Intolerable Acts” is unclear.
No matter, at least as far as the “gun rights” establishment is concerned. Cekada appears to be a shoo-in:
“Trump ATF Director Nominee Faces Little Pushback in Confirmation Hearing,” The Reload reports. “President Donald Trump’s pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) experienced smooth sailing through his Senate examination this week.”
“President Trump’s ATF pick clears Senate hearing easily,” the Second Amendment Foundation echoed.
“An ATF Director Republicans Can (Finally) Support,” the National Review gushed.
And why not? Recognized “gun rights leaders” were out there heaping praise! Here are some examples:
“NSSF-Supported ATF Director Nominee Cekada Questioned at Senate Hearing, Vows ‘Not to Burden Law-Abiding Gun Owners’” the National Shooting Sports Foundation effused. “This morning NSSF sent a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) expressing the industry’s ‘strong and unqualified support’ for confirming Deputy Director Cekada to be the Senate-confirmed director of the bureau that regulates the firearm and ammunition industry.”
“In his role as Deputy Director, we have worked closely with Robert Cekada to ensure law-abiding gun owners have a seat at the table in shaping policy,” the American Suppressor Association weighed in. “If confirmed, he would be the first ever truly pro-Second Amendment nominee to head the agency.”
Would he be? Is he “truly pro-Second Amendment”? Because you can’t really tell from the questions put to Cekada by the Committee, nor from his carefully qualified answers.
Codrea does concede that Cekada is clearly a better choice than, say, David Chipman would have been, and a better choice than Steve Dettelbach was, but that’s damning with faint praise.
I mean, a tuna fish sandwich is a better choice than those two knuckleheads.
He also concedes that Cekada was about the best we could actually expect, and I think that’s the crux of things. Yeah, I get the argument he made when he said, ” Noting the legal environment the nominee is part of and stepping into, he’s as good as we’re going to get, but hardly measures up to the superlatives of being ‘truly pro-Second Amendment.’ You can’t be and still work for ATF, which is why none of the NRA A-rated senators lobbed anything but softballs that he could generalize his way around.” He’s not wrong that no one working for the ATF, especially for that long, can really be as pro-gun as many of us might prefer.
But at the end of the day, what mattered was trying to get someone confirmed. Ever since the ATF director’s job started requiring confirmation, getting an actual director in there has been a challenge. Guns are too controversial of a topic for there to be much smooth sailing for anyone who is too far on either wing of the issue.
As much as I’d love to see Brandon Herrera in that role, should his bid for Congress fail to work out, the truth is that he’s far less likely to be confirmed, and that matters.
Would I love to see a true 2A absolutist running the ATF? Absolutely. Would I love to see someone dismantle it until the name is used for a convenience store instead of a federal law enforcement agency? You bet.
Is that going to happen? Not if Democrats continue to be as vehemently anti-gun as they currently and historically are.
Cekada may not be as good as we want, but the win comes from the fact that he’s probably as good as we could ever hope to reasonably get.
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