ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES, BUREAU OF

ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, FIREARMS, AND EXPLOSIVES, BUREAU OF

For more than 80 years, the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, and Firearms was an agency of the U.S.
Department of the Treasury. The Homeland
Security Act of 2002, Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116
Stat. 2135, divided the agency into two bureaus:
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and
Explosives (still referred to as ATF) and the Tax
and Trade Bureau (TTB). Effective January 24,
2003, the ATF became part of the JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT, while the TTB remained part of
the TREASURY DEPARTMENT. The move of the
ATF to the Justice Department would allow ATF
agents and inspectors to partner with traditional
law enforcement agencies, such as the FEDERAL
BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION. With this change,
the TTB became responsible for revenue collec-
tion and regulation of legitimate alcohol and
tobacco industries.

The ATF itself was established on July 1,
1972, but it traces its roots to the days of PROHI-
BITION. The legendary Eliot Ness and his
Untouchables, famous U.S. revenue agents
remembered for their dramatic surprise raids on
illegal alcohol operations, were predecessors of
twenty-first century ATF agents. The Untouch-
ables earned their name because of their reputa-
tion for high moral integrity and resistance to
corruption.
Before the division of the bureau in 2002,
the ATF had a long and somewhat complex his-
tory.With the passage of the EIGHTEENTH AMEND-
MENT, the manufacture, sale, transportation,
importation, and exportation of “intoxicating
liquors” from or to the United States or its terri-
tories became illegal. This amendment ushered
in Prohibition, an era of ORGANIZED CRIME and
underworld syndicates that controlled an illicit
liquor business with violence and intimidation.
In an attempt to stanch the flow of weapons to
these criminals, Congress passed several laws to
regulate the firearms and ammunition indus-
tries. Originally, the Bureau of Prohibition was
responsible for administering these laws. In
1942, the Alcohol Tax Unit (ATU), a forerunner
of the ATF, formally took over the bureau’s job
when the bureau was disbanded following repeal
of the Eighteenth Amendment. In 1952, the ATU
added enforcement of tobacco tax laws to its list
of responsibilities and changed its title to the
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax Division (ATTD) of
the INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS).
During the 1960s, Congress recognized the
need to control destructive devices other than
firearms. The Omnibus Crime Control and Safe
Streets Act of 1968 and the Gun Control Act of
1968, 18 U.S.C.A. § 921 et seq., superseded ear-
lier firearms control laws and placed bombs and
other explosives as well as firearms under the
strict control of the government. The ATTD was
given jurisdiction over the criminal use of
explosives and was renamed the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division (ATFD) of the
IRS.
In 1970, the Organized Crime Control Act,
18 U.S.C.A. 841-848, which included the Explosives
Control Act, 18 U.S.C.A. § 842, provided
for close regulation of the explosives industry
and designated certain arsons and bombings as
federal crimes. With the additional responsibility
of enforcing these new laws, the ATFD redefined
its mission in order to distinguish itself
from the IRS. On July 1, 1972, the ATFD was
given full bureau status within the Treasury
Department and acquired the name, the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
The ATF and TTB are responsible for
enforcing and ensuring compliance with the following
laws.
■ Federal Alcohol Administration Act, 27
U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq. (1935);
■ Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as it relates
to distilled spirits, tobacco products, and
firearms (26 U.S.C.A. §5001 et seq.);
■ Gun Control Act of 1968, as amended, 18
App. 26 U.S.C.A. § 5801 et seq.;
■ Title XI of the Organized Crime Control Act
(1970) (Explosives Control Act) (22 U.S.C.
§2778);
■ Portions of the Arms Export Control Act
(1976);
■ Trafficking in Contraband Cigarettes Act
(1978) 18 U.S.C.A. 2341–2346;
■ Anti-Arson Act of 1982 (amended title XI of
the Organized Crime Control Act), 18
U.S.C.A. §§ 841 note, 844;
■ Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, 18 App.
U.S.C.A. §§ 1201, 1202
In the area of alcohol and tobacco regulation,
as of 2003, the TTB controls production,
labeling, advertising, and the relationships
between producers, wholesalers, and retailers.
The responsibility was previously under the
purview of the ATF. TTB efforts are directed
mainly at protecting consumers against products
that are impure or mislabeled or otherwise
potentially harmful.
During the 1980s, alcohol-related activities
of the ATF focused on the promulgation and
enforcement of labeling regulations. For example,
in March 1994, the Miller Brewing Company
replaced an advertisement for one of its
beers in response to concerns raised by ATF officials.
The advertisement showed the beer’s label,
which listed the product’s alcohol content, a violation
of the Federal Alcohol Administration Act
(FAAA), 27 U.S.C.A. § 201 et seq., one of the
laws the ATF enforces. However, the strength of
that act was diluted later by a 1995 Supreme
Court decision declaring the restriction unconstitutional.
In Rubin v. Coors Brewing Co., 514
U.S. 476, 115 S. Ct. 1585, 131 L. Ed. 2d 532
(1995), the Court held that the subsection of the
act that prohibits brewers from advertising the
alcohol content of their beers was unnecessarily
broad and violated the FIRST AMENDMENT. The
Court stated further that the government’s legitimate
interest in preventing manufacturers from
competing by increasing the alcohol content of
their beers could be accomplished through less
restrictive means, such as by directly limiting the
alcohol content of beer or by banning the advertisement
of alcohol content of high-alcohol
brews.
During the 1980s and 1990s, ATF enforcement
duties were increasingly focused on
firearms as alcohol and tobacco regulation
became mainly a matter of taxation. As of 1991,
an estimated 270,000 dealers, importers, and
manufacturers of firearms, ammunition, and
explosives were licensed in the United States.
Approximately 140 million to 200 million
firearms were in circulation. The ATF must oversee enforcement of the laws regulating these
items.
The ATF functioned with relative anonymity
until February 28, 1993, when it became
involved in an ill-fated raid that tainted its reputation
and called its future into question. Acting
on reports of stockpiled weapons and explosives
at the headquarters of a religious sect, the
Branch Davidians of Waco, Texas, ATF agents
executed a military-style raid of the compound.
The agents proceeded with the raid even after
discovering that the Branch Davidians had been
tipped off by an informant. In the ensuing gunfight,
four ATF agents were killed and fifteen
wounded. The Davidians refused to surrender,
and the agents refused to back down. The standoff
continued until April 19, when ATF agents
again moved to take the compound by force.
The raid turned into a shoot-out and conflagration
in which 85 members of the cult, including
17 children, perished.
The bureau was widely criticized for its
actions at Waco. A report on the incident issued
by the Treasury Department concluded that the
decision to proceed was wrong and that those in
charge of the operation knew it was a mistake to
proceed with the raid because the element of
surprise was missing. The report found that
bureau officials unwisely insisted on carrying
out the February 28 raid even though the critical
element of surprise had been lost. The bureau’s
director, Stephen E. Higgins, retired early from
his position, and two agents, Phillip J. Chojnacki
and Charles D. Sarabyn, were suspended for
their roles in the botched raid. Chojnacki and
Sarabyn appealed their suspensions, and, in
December 1994, they were reinstated with full
back pay and benefits, although they were
demoted. In addition, the incident was removed
from their personnel files.
The incident at Waco aroused the ire of
many U.S. citizens, particularly right-wing militia
groups who saw the raid as an example of
government intrusion upon their right to keep
and bear arms. The NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION
sent out membership solicitation letters in
1995 described ATF agents as “jack-booted government
thugs.” Some believe that an April 1995
bombing of a federal building in Oklahoma
City, which took place exactly two years after
Waco, was planned in retaliation for the ATF
raid on the Branch Davidians.
Controversy continues to surround the ATF.
Some critics say that its agents are not sufficiently
trained to carry out the types of operations
its administrators seem to favor. Others
contend that it lacks a coherent mission and that
many of its duties, such as enforcement of alcohol
regulations, are better suited to other agencies.
The move toward a complete split between
the agencies was expected to take some time.
FURTHER READINGS
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Bureau.“History
of ATF from Oxford University Press, Inc.” Available
online at (accessed
June 14, 2003).
Reavis, Dick J. 1995. The Ashes of Waco: An Investigation.
New York: Simon & Schuster.
U.S. Government Manual Website. Available online at
(accessed November 10, 2003).
CROSS-REFERENCES
Alcohol; Branch Davidian Raid; Explosives; Gun Control;
Weapons.