In October 2009, firearms and ammunition excise tax collection climbed 45 percent from the previous fiscal year, the greatest annual increase in the firearms tax revenue in the agency’s [...]]]> The U.S. federal government collected $20.6 billion in taxes on alcohol, tobacco, firearms and ammunition in fiscal year 2009, up 41 percent from the previous fiscal year.

In October 2009, firearms and ammunition excise tax collection climbed 45 percent from the previous fiscal year, the greatest annual increase in the firearms tax revenue in the agency’s history, the report said. By comparison, the average annual increase for fiscal years 1993 to 2008 was 6 percent.

A Gallup Poll conducted in early October 2009 said one possible explanation for the surge in gun and ammunition sales could be that more than 50 percent of the Americans who owned guns and some 41 percent of all Americans believed that President Obama would “attempt to ban the sale of guns in the United States while he is president.”

Obama, who supports reauthorizing the ban on assault weapons but has not made a push to do so, did sign a law that included allowing people to bring guns into national parks this past February.

It was unclear why the agemcy included the guns and ammunition information from October 2009. Calls and e-mails to the TTB seeking clarification were not immediately returned. - [source]

He said that fewer than a dozen Mexican police officers are allowed to use the system and that they have been [...]]]> U.S. law, such information is private and can be seen only by law-enforcers doing legitimate investigations.Thomasson said some identifying information, such as Social Security numbers, are edited out of the reports given to foreign police.

He said that fewer than a dozen Mexican police officers are allowed to use the system and that they have been vetted and undergone background checks by the ATF. The hope is that Mexico and other countries will eventually dedicate more officers to the task, Thomasson said.
However, the National Rifle Association said it is worried that encouraging more users abroad could lead to private information about gun owners being leaked to the public or criminals. “We don’t trust our own government to have a national list of gun owners, much less a government whose corruption is legendary,” Velleco said. “For the U.S. to give that type of government access to our records of gun owners is an outrage.” -[source]

Giving more power to this agency is fundamentally wrong for a many reasons well known to gun rights advocates.

“According to [...]]]> The enemies of our right to keep and bear arms are taking a backdoor approach to bypass our elected representatives–one that will result in increasing the reach of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Giving more power to this agency is fundamentally wrong for a many reasons well known to gun rights advocates.

“According to ATF employees who are risking their careers to post information on CleanUpATF.org:

“Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (BATFE or “ATF”) have repeatedly given false testimony, concealed substantial waste, fraud and abuse, abused their lawful authority, and waged systematic campaigns of reprisal against their own employees that dare to speak out. This website is intended by members of the ATF community to promote restoration of integrity, accountability and responsibility to ATF’s leadership, and regain the trust of the American taxpayer. “-[source]