ATF Director Steven Dettelbach, a Democrat, made numerous mistakes when speaking about firearms during an interview that aired over the weekend.
Speaking with Margaret Brennan on CBS News’ “Face The Nation,” Dettelbach stood in front of a table that had numerous firearms as he tried what he claimed were loopholes that allow people to get around gun laws.
While speaking about how many rounds some of the AK variant rifles could fire, Dettelbach demonstrated that he did not basic firearm terminology, like the difference between a clip and a magazine.
Moments later he also demonstrated that he did not know what a pistol brace was when he suggested that it was the same thing as a butt stock. Pistol braces allow the person operating the firearm to stick their wrist through the device and use a piece of velcro to tighten the device around their wrist, thus allowing the operator to fire the weapon only using one hand.
The way that Brennan conducted the interview made it clear that the segment was intended to be pro-gun control propaganda as she stood with her arms crossed expressing disgust and promoting the false narrative that the Second Amendment was created for “hunting.” The Second Amendment was created for the purposes of self-defense and a check against government tyranny.
Dettelbach also urged gun stores to refuse to sell certain types of weapons, like large caliber rifles, to customers who are paying in cash and to pick up the phone and call the ATF so they can go investigate those people.
“And for those who aren’t doing that, I hope and expect that, as Americans, we will do that,” he said. “But for those who aren’t, somebody comes into your store, in a border state and plunks down $12,000 cash money for one of these [.50 caliber rifles], so that there’s no credit card trail, I mean, my word, we hope that people will help us as Americans and continue to help us and not make that sale and protect our safety.”
“I’m just sort of doing a little bit of a commercial, for those who are going to be at the counter, thinking about it, do not let this happen,” he begged. “Please help us to stop this. We respect you. We depend on you. Please, as firearms dealers help us to stop this.”
He said that if a man and a woman walk into a store and the man asks all the questions and then has the woman purchase the firearm that “all sorts of alarm bells should be going off” and the gun store should not sell to that couple.
ATF Director Steven Dettelbach went on CBS's Face The Nation & displayed a shocking ignorance of firearms while trying to gin up fear to strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
It should scare everyone that Dettelbach doesn't know the difference between a clip & a magazine. pic.twitter.com/0cABaCZ2sT
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) March 3, 2024
During the sit down portion of the interview, Dettelbach said that his agency, which has thousands of agents, was “way, way, way too small.”
Brennan also teed up a question for Dettelbach on how Congress protecting Americans’ Second Amendment rights and privacy rights by banning the ATF from creating a federal gun registry was an “impediment” for the ATF’s agenda.
When asked about the impediment to law enforcement as Congress prohibits the ATF from creating a centralized registry of U.S. gun owners, ATF Director Steven Dettalbach says: "It's a law, and we comply with it. That means that we have to work within that system." pic.twitter.com/lHtUcL40tB
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) March 3, 2024