Another long-term Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) employee is out as the purge of anti-gun advocates continues. The latest casualty, Megan Bennett, has been forced to retire.
Ms. Bennett was the Assistant Director of the Office of Enforcement Programs and Services (EPS). Recently, she came under fire for presenting former ATF Director Steve Dettelbach with what appeared to be an 80% AR-15 lower receiver in violation of Washington, DC law. DC requires all AR-15 lowers to be serialized and the transferee to go through the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).
It was clear by the ceremony that Dettelbach didn’t go through background checks.
In the ceremony, Bennett talked about her pride in being part of all the new rules implemented under the Biden Administration. Bennett was an advocate of rules such as the pistol brace rule. The rule reclassified pistols equipped with pistol stabilizing devices as short-barreled rifles (SBRs). Millions of Americans own braced pistols. These citizens would have to register their firearms with the ATF’s National Firearms Act Division (NFA), or they could be charged with a felony, face 10 years in federal prison, and be forced to pay a $250.000 fine.
Multiple gun rights organizations sued over the pistol brace rule, claiming that it violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). The proposed rule had a checklist called the ATF Form 4999 with a point system determining whether a braced firearm was a rifle or pistol. The Final Rule lacked any resemblance to the proposed rule. The gun rights groups claimed that the Final Rule was not a logical outgrowth of the proposed rule. These groups also contended that the rule was arbitrary and capricious because it had a “you know it when you see it” clause.
The courts would issue multiple injunctions against the ATF’s pistol brace rule, preventing the Bureau’s enforcement of its implementation. Braced pistols would return to shelves of gun stores. This injunction should have been a sign that the ATF should not try to enforce the pistol brace rule, but Ms. Bennett and EPS disagreed.
A Gun Owners of America (GOA) member emailed EPS asking if he would need to register his CZ Scorpion equipped with a pistol brace to the ATF’s NFA Division.
The EPS responded that even though the rule was enjoined, it could interpret the federal statute so that the ATF could still enforce a ban on non-registered pistols equipped with braces. This statement caused GOA to push back against the policy. Bennett and EPS were forced to backtrack, withdraw their conclusion, and admit that they cannot enforce the interpretation that pistols equipped with braces are SBRs. Reading the letter that EPS issued after being forced to backtrack, it was clear they were not happy being forced to backtrack.
NSSF Welcomes Robert Cekada as New ATF Deputy Director #NSSF https://t.co/Q7hL4xDKKV
— NSSF—The Firearm Industry Trade Association (@NSSF) April 15, 2025
The ATF seems to be cleaning house of those not on board with the government’s new stance on Second Amendment rights. Since the beginning of the year, the ATF has fired Chief Legal Counsel Pam Hicks, who was a favorite among the anti-gun groups. Ms. Hicks was replaced with a much more gun-friendly lawyer named Robert Leider. Marvin Richardson was also removed as Deputy Director and replaced with Robert Cekada, who has made it clear he wants to repair the relationship between the ATF and the gun community.
The changes are a good first step, but only time will tell how different the ATF will look in the future.
The Supreme Court Strikes A Major Blow To The Administrative State
About John Crump
Mr. Crump is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people from all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons, follow him on X at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.
