At the same time, the number of federally licensed gun dealers increased by about 9,000, topping out at 56,754 in 2016, while the number of federally licensed firearms manufacturers more than tripled, according to the ATF. “The last aircraft carrier cost $13 billion, so that’d be like 10 years of ATF budgets.”In 2016, the ATF employed 821 industry operations investigators, who were in charge of regulating more than 100,000 federal firearms licensees, or FFLs. These agents periodically inspect gun dealers and manufacturers to make sure their businesses comply with federal law. ATF investigators review paperwork at gun stores to confirm sales have been legally conducted and properly recorded, so firearms can be traced if they’re used in a crime. For gun manufacturers, the ATF examines inventory and transaction records to make sure the company has distributed its products according to the law.

Source: Huffington Post February 23, 2018 01:24 UTC