During a hearing held in the House this week about pistol braces, which are items that expand the functionality of accompanying firearms to more closely approximate short-barreled rifles and sawed-off shotguns, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tried to raise complaints about allegedly past collection by the federal agency known as the ATF of records beyond what were meant to be allowed.
“Does the fact that the ATF broke the law concern you?” Gaetz asked, taking the claimed lawbreaking as a fact. The Florida Republican was addressing Rob Wilcox, who is an executive with a non-governmental organization known as Everytown for Gun Safety. “The report, I believe, supported ATF’s action in cataloging records to stop crime,” Wilcox replied. After Gaetz pressed him again, Wilcox continued: “ATF has been collecting out-of-business records pursuant to a law signed by Ronald Reagan, and President Trump digitized more records than any other president.” The Republican was dismissive. “I don’t care who did it,” he said. “I’m just worried about the impact on my citizens.” (His citizens?) It appears some of the records under dispute included relevantly identifying details associated with various firearms. The federal agency in question is provided a slew of records when dealers close up shop, as it goes.
“What I know about this tool is that it’s a crime-fighting tool,” Wilcox continued, leading to predictable interruptions from the Congressman. Wilcox attempted to explain that his understanding of conclusions Gaetz was citing from a government ethics authority was that the agency’s overall collection of records was within relevant rules. An issue, Wilcox said, was the conversion of electronic records. Later in his remarks, Gaetz took offense at describing the rate of gun violence across the U.S. as indicative of an emergency in public health, suggesting the language indicated threats of government overreach like conservatives have consistently claimed in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Back down in reality, over 4,000 Americans, including young children, have already died this year in incidents of gun violence, excluding suicides, which add thousands more.
