Gun Owners of America (GOA), alongside Gun Owners Foundation (GOF) and allied organizations representing millions of gun owners nationwide, is warning Congress and the American people about a deeply troubling proposal by the Department of Justice to merge the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The allied organizations joining GOA and GOF are the Second Amendment Foundation, CCRKBA (Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms), CRPA (California Rifle & Pistol Association) and 2nd Amendment Law Center.

In a joint coalition letter sent to the White House and Department of Justice earlier this month, GOA and its coalition partners outlined twelve reasons this merger represents an unprecedented threat to gun rights—consolidating power, expanding federal gun enforcement capabilities, and laying the groundwork for a fully weaponized surveillance regime targeting law-abiding gun owners.

The merger plan, advanced under the guise of “efficiency,” has now been outlined by the Office of Management and Budget, Department of Justice, and Attorney General Pam Bondi. The ATF-DEA merger threatens to combine the agency responsible for regulating firearms with the one tasked with combating narcotics—sending an incorrect and dangerous signal that constitutionally-protected gun ownership belongs in the same category as illicit drug trafficking.

Today, both Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) expressed their concerns and opposition to the proposed merger. As GOA continues to lead the charge against regulatory overreach, we will work with members of Congress to speak out against and shut down this ill-advised expansion of the ATF’s authority.

Sam Paredes, on behalf of the Board of Directors for Gun Owners Foundation, issued the following statement: “Merging the ATF with the DEA is a reckless move that will supercharge federal gun enforcement. It would hand a future, Democrat-led DOJ a green light to escalate surveillance, intimidation, and prosecutions of law-abiding citizens who simply wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights. GOF and GOA will oppose this merger at every turn.”

Erich Pratt, Senior Vice President of Gun Owners of America, issued the following statement:“This merger proposal is a Trojan horse for gun control—plain and simple. DEA’s expansive surveillance authority and militarized structure would supercharge ATF’s war on the Second Amendment, making it even harder to hold rogue bureaucrats accountable. Gun owners know exactly what’s happening here: the federal government is trying to build a bigger hammer to crush their rights.”

GOA spokesmen are available for interviews. Gun Owners of America is a nonprofit grassroots lobbying organization representing over two million members and activists. For more information, visit GOA’s Press Center.