Publicola

I came across this CNS story about both pro & anti gun groups being concerned over the move of the BATF to the Justice Department. I would suggest that since neither side is happy we disband the BATF alltogether, but that's just me.
I did notice the following:
"Since its inception over 200 years ago, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been responsible for regulating and collecting revenue for the U.S. Department of the Treasury."
"The ATTTB will continue to operate within Treasury in nearly the same revenue enforcement role it has maintained since it collected the first excise tax on distilled spirits in 1791."

Now if memory serves the BATF was first created in 1972. Perhaps they mistyped. Perhaps they meant that the U.S. government has been performing this tax collecting function through one agency or another since 1791. But no matter the cause, they are factually in error about the age of the BATF.