Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) is making it easier to get guns and harder to enforce regulations ahead of the July 4 holiday.
The agency initially planned to make 47 changes—in honor of President Donald Trump’s status as the 47th U.S. President—but the number soon swelled to over 50, the Washington Post reports.
Working with DOGE—which Musk departed in May—the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and FIirearms’ (ATF) legal counsel is proposing to simplify the legally mandated 4473 form that buyers are required to fill from seven pages to three and consolidating questions such as whether the buyer has been committed to a mental institution, has been dishonorably discharged from the military, or has a history of drug abuse into one, among other changes.
The agency will also slash 541 of the ATF’s 800 inspectors, making it more difficult for the agency to conduct inspections on licensed firearms sellers or on stores where a large number of newly purchased firearms have been involved in crimes, according to the Post.
“As Attorney General Bondi has made clear, ATF is working hard to reduce regulatory red tape that burdens lawful gun owners and to ensure agents are doing real police work hunting down criminals and gang members—not knocking on the doors of lawful gun owners in the middle of the night,” a Justice Department spokesperson told the Post.
The ATF has been a thorn in the side of pro-gun advocates for years, who have claimed that its existence tramples on the Second Amendment. President Donald Trump has yet to appoint a permanent director to the ATF, which has reportedly been understaffed and underfunded, and the administration has already pushed out a number of its most senior personnel, including Deputy Director Marvin Richardson, who was forced to retire.
“The Administration seems hell-bent on ushering in a golden age for gun criminals, gutting the only agency specifically tasked with keeping communities safe from gun violence,” John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, told the Post in a statement.
“These cuts would be a dream come true for gun traffickers, straw purchasers, and unscrupulous gun dealers—and a nightmare for law enforcement and public safety,” he added.
With just 350 inspectors responsible for checking over 9,000 federal licensees, the remaining staff would be required to carry out around 3,000 inspections per year.
“The administration claims to support law enforcement and care about fighting crime, but they are proposing the most radical defunding of the police we have ever seen from the federal government,” said Adam Skaggs, chief counsel of gun control advocacy group Giffords Law Center.
In February, Trump made the surprise decision to appoint FBI Director Kash Patel as the temporary head of the agency. Patel has only visited the agency’s headquarters once and only rarely responds to correspondence, the Post reports. He was later replaced by Army Secretary Dan Driscoll in April, who also holds two roles simultaneously.
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