The BATF Spending Your Money

The Liberty Sphere reported in the commentary "The Bush Betrayal of Gun Owners " that:

Since 2002, a whopping 85% of firearms manufacturers in America have been forced to close their doors for good.

Note that the alarming rate of shut-downs of gun manufacturers by the ATF coincides with the election of George W. Bush.

However, the Clinton Administration is every bit as culpable. From 1994-2005, 80% of gun dealers were forced out of business. Eight of those years were under the Clinton Administration.

Nonetheless, the Bush Administration has done absolutely nothing to stem the tide of this alarming persecution, and if anything the ATF has actually turned up the heat in the last few years.

The statistic that nails the Bush Administration is that from 2001 until 2006, the number of gun dealers who have had their licenses revoked by the ATF has risen by 6 times the number of revocations in the previous six years.

In short, the Bush Administration has been no friend to gun owner.

You would think that the BATF would be working themselves out of a job by closing down so many dealers and manufacturers. Nope.
From Government Computer News:
By Wilson P. Dizard III

The Justice Department’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced plans to field a nationwide wireless broadband telecommunications and Web portal. The agency said in a procurement notice issued last week that it seeks to award a contract by November for a wireless system based on technology from iPass.

In a notice on the Fed-BizOpps government acquisition system, the agency said it plans to solicit proposals for the system around Aug. 7. ATF seeks to purchase a system that would support thousands of agency employees.

ATF stated its requirements for the planned system: “The Web portal shall support law enforcement activities, a collaborative work environment, remote access to databases and software, surveillance and streaming video applications over an integrated wireless infrastructure encompassing a broad spectrum of wireless devices and a secure e-mail system using iPass Mobile Systems software and products.”

Our tax dollars at work.