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FIRST ON FOX: A group of 30 House Republicans is raising alarms about how the government shutdown is impacting gun owners across the U.S.
Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., led his colleagues in a letter to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Thursday urging its acting director to reclassify certain employees as essential workers, warning that current parameters are leaving many gun owners’ applications for certain items in limbo.
“As a result of this Democrat-led shutdown, ATF, like most federal agencies, is operating at a reduced workforce. And while Democrats continue to fight for benefits for illegal aliens, the constitutional rights of Americans are being infringed as a result,” read the letter, first obtained by Fox News Digital.
“That is because, under federal law, Second Amendment rights cannot be fully exercised without the involvement of the federal government. This clearly is not what the Framers intended, but it is this country’s unfortunate reality.”
SCREAMING MATCH ERUPTS BETWEEN HAKEEM JEFFRIES, MIKE LAWLER AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN CHAOS CONTINUES
A group of 30 House GOP lawmakers are pushing for the ATF to reclassify federal employees, warning the shutdown is risking gun owners’ rights. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images; Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images)
The government shutdown is in its 17th day, with Democrats and Republicans still unable to agree on a path forward on federal funding.
It’s led to thousands of government employees being furloughed and a wide array of federal services paused. Shutdowns force federal agencies to triage their output, deciding which workers and services are “essential” and must keep working with limited or no pay, and what to shutter altogether.
Much of the ATF’s non-law enforcement staff was furloughed, and processing of new and renewed civilian federal firearms licenses was stalled, according to the Firearm Industry Trade Association.
58 HOUSE DEMS VOTE AGAINST…
