While a lot of sectors of the economy are in the toilet the firearms sector is doing quite well. Guns and ammunition sales remain high, which has causes more manufacturers to enter the market. In fact the sector is getting large enough that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is beginning to whine about being unable to perform its duties:
Florida has more “gun manufacturers” than any other state except Texas, after a surge of 346 percent in licenses for gun makers since 2009, fueled by the nation’s growing demand for firearms.
That has created some concerns about the regulatory oversight of these businesses by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the federal law enforcement agency that monitors the nation’s gun sales and distribution.
“Maybe we are on the edge of a point where the ATF will not be able to keep up anymore,” said former ATF special agent William Vizzard.
Denial of service attacks against the State are always fun. First, they’re usually unintentional so there’s nobody’s head to put on a pike. Second, they exploit the State’s bureaucracy and therefore cannot be mitigated because the State won’t give up the one thing it relies on. Third, it gets more goods into the hands of consumers.
Anybody who has tried to purchase a suppressor in recent times knows that the ATF is already at the point where it cannot keep up. Wait times for six to eight months are the norm when waiting for ATF approval when purchasing a suppressor. That wait time is only going to increase as suppressors become more popular. And the ATF is constantly grasping for more power (again, that reliance on bureaucracy is biting it in the ass), which only further burdens the agency. Eventually the ATF will grind to a halt under the weight of its own regulations and then something may finally be done about the agency.
Wait times for six to eight months are the norm when waiting for ATF approval when purchasing a suppressor.
And this is a good thing? Call me for celebrations when either the ATF gives up or people give up going through the ATF when they want a suppressor. As things stand, I see longer delays while the ATF staffs up, spending more of my tax money, but never giving an inch.
It’s a good thing insomuch as it demonstrates that the ATF is already choking on its own regulatory burden. So long as a bureaucracy is running smoothly few people throw much of a fit. When bureaucracies start running poorly people start throwing fits and that sometimes leads to change. With the rising popularity of suppressors and the fact that wait times are already six to eight months it’s feasible that the proles will start to bitch sufficiently where suppressors will get taken off of the NFA list (because, unlike machines guns, suppressors aren’t terribly scary to as many people).