There have been more than 13,000 gun violence deaths in the United States so far in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is supposed to help protect Americans from gun violence, but that mission has put it at the center of political battles over gun safety.

What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of Americans have died in gun violence so far this year, some of them in mass shootings like the ones we saw at a school in Nashville, Tenn., and a dance hall in Monterey Park, Calif.
  • "The level of gun violence in America is quite simply unacceptable," Steve Dettelbach said in his testimony before the House Judiciary Panel on Wednesday
  • Republicans say a recent ATF rule that tightens regulations on guns with accessories known as stabilizing braces is unfair
  • Democrats say the ATF is critical in combatting gun violence, and they accuse Republicans of wanting to abolish the agency—which is what a GOP bill introduced earlier this year would do

Those tensions erupted once again in Congress on Wednesday as ATF director Steve Dettelbach testified before the House Judiciary Committee at a hearing on oversight of the agency.

"The level of gun violence in America is quite simply unacceptable," Dettelbach said in his testimony. 

The agency tasked with helping to enforce the country's gun laws is a political hot potato. It has been targeted for years by the powerful lobbying arm of the National Rifle Association, making it hard for anyone to get confirmed as director in Congress. Dettelbach is just the second permanent director of the agency since 2006.

On Wednesday, as he testified before the committee, he became the target of criticism by Republicans.

"Is the goal of the ATF to go after and criminalize law-abiding Americans?" asked Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas. 

Republicans say a recent ATF rule that tightens regulations on guns with an accessory known as a stabilizing brace – which can be attached to the back of a gun to effectively allow it to be operated as a short-barreled rifle – is unfair.

"This rule that turns law-abiding gun owners into felons is a result of unelected bureaucrats simply enacting a new regulation," Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said.

Democrats say the ATF is critical in combatting gun violence, and they accuse Republicans of wanting to abolish the agency — which is what a Republican bill introduced earlier this year would do.

Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., charged during the hearing that the Republican Party has "become the anti-ATF, anti-FBI, anti-law enforcement, pro-insurrection party."

In the audience on Wednesday was Joy McManus, a teacher and a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, who said she was disappointed with what she heard from some lawmakers in Congress.

"They're not focused on the issue at hand, which is keeping Americans safe," she said. "They're getting into the weeds about very small details that are really not as impactful as the main mission of the ATF, which is to protect us."