BATFE

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms: A law-enforcement and regulatory agency of the federal government. The BATF is alleged to have abused its power in dealing with lawful gun owners, using needlessly excessive force, wrongfully confiscating legal firearms, and violating the Fourth Amendment right of the people to be secure in their persons and their homes against unreasonable searches and seizures. A Congressman from Michigan aptly described BATF as "jackbooted American fascists" (see the Congressional Record for February 1995, at www.gpoaccess.gov).