Houston ATF slammed for gun safety violations after posting pic of man with gun pointed at his crotch

The Houston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) posted a picture on their Twitter account showing a man working with firearms. In what was a clear and blatant violation of any type of gun safety procedure, the man had the barrel pointed at his crotch while handling the gun. 

The ATF is a federal department whose mission is to protect "the public from crimes involving firearms, explosives, arson, and the diversion of alcohol and tobacco products" with regulation and other various guidelines.  

The number one rule for firearm handling, according to the ATF's own website, is, "Treat every firearm as if it were loaded." The number two rule is, "Always keep the muzzle of the firearms pointed in a safe direction."  

Users who saw the post from the division of the ATF reacted strongly to the photo of the gun safety violation.  

One user commented, "Bro seriously I’m a retired cop. This will get you kicked off the range for the day and in deep sh*t." 

The picture also showed what appears to be a "glock switch," or a small device that makes some handguns fully automatic. They are illegal under federal law.  

One user pointed it out and said, "Nice felony you got there." 

Another pointed out both violations of both the law and safety and said, "My brother in Christ, you are literally part of the agency that background checks people who want to buy firearms. You have a full-metal felony in the case and the [business] end of an un-aliver pointed at your clackers." 

The Director of Federal Affairs for Gun Owners of America quote tweeted, "Whenever I go shooting, I too load my magazines while standing down range & with my OPEN BOLT machine guns pointed straight at me." 

The ATF has also been ridiculed for its conduct by some, not only with guns, but also its treatment of gun owners.  

The Biden Administration's pick to lead the organization, David Chipman, equated gun owners to "doomsday preppers" as well as with "Tiger King" from the Netflix documentary in an April 2020 interview.  



Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) went after Chipman in a May 2021 Senate Judiciary Committee hearing over his remarks, saying, “It concerns me that you as the nominee to be the director of the ATF would have such a flippant and, if I may say, so utterly condescending attitude toward first-time gun owners in this country." 

The White House ended up withdrawing Chipman as the nominee later on, in September of that year.