Is the ATF Neutral, or Quietly Anti-Gun?

Zion Patriot,

When news broke that former senior ATF official Marianna Mitchem had joined Everytown for Gun Safety, it barely made a ripple in the mainstream press. But for those of us who care about the Second Amendment, this should be flashing red lights. We’re talking about someone who held a top enforcement role inside ATF until just a few months ago, now moving directly into one of the most aggressive gun-control organizations in the country.

A Former Senior ATF Official, Now an Activist

Mitchem wasn’t some low-level agent — she was Associate Assistant Director of Field Operations (Industry Operations). That means she oversaw the very teams that regulate gun dealers, inspect licensees, and enforce compliance. In other words, she had a front-row seat to how ATF applies its power over the firearms industry.

Could she now be leveraging that insider knowledge to push for restrictions on our Second Amendment rights by coordinating with her former colleagues? If so, that’s not just “switching jobs.” That’s using a taxpayer-funded career as a stepping stone into advocacy designed to restrict the rights of gun owners.

Not the First

Mitchem isn’t the first. Remember David Chipman? He spent decades at ATF, then moved on to become a senior advisor at Giffords, another major gun-control group. He was even nominated to run the ATF under Biden — a nomination that failed in large part because of his outspoken activism against guns.

Notice the pattern? The pipeline flows one way. ATF leaders don’t leave government and join pro-gun organizations. They don’t end up at the NRA, Gun Owners of America, or Second Amendment Foundation. They head straight for groups lobbying to curtail gun rights.

Why It Matters

This isn’t just about career choices. It’s about bias inside an agency with enormous power over gun owners.

  • Conflict of Interest – If ATF leaders consistently end up as paid activists for gun-control groups, how neutral were they while in office?
  • Insider Leverage – Everytown now has someone who knows ATF’s playbook, its weak spots, and its inner culture. That’s influence you can’t buy.
  • Eroded Trust – For decades, gun owners have accused ATF of being hostile to the Second Amendment. Moves like this reinforce the suspicion many gun owners have long held.

The Bigger Question

If ATF leadership tends to transition into openly anti-gun organizations, should we really trust that their actions while in office were impartial?

👉 Or worse, yet, were they already working in the interests of the gun-control lobby while they held power inside ATF?

That’s a question every gun owner, and every American who values accountability in government, should be asking.

Imagine if the shoe were on the other foot. If senior ATF officials started leaving government and taking jobs at the NRA, Gun Owners of America, or a major gun manufacturer, groups like Everytown and Giffords would be screaming bloody murder about conflicts of interest and corruption. But when the pipeline flows toward their side? Silence.

The Revolving Door: Not Just ATF

Critics of government agencies often complain about the “revolving door” — where regulators move into the very industries they once oversaw. It happens all the time in finance, defense, and even healthcare.

  • Finance: SEC officials leave government and show up at Goldman Sachs or JPMorgan, raising questions about whether they went soft on Wall Street while in office.
  • Defense: Retired generals land on the boards of Lockheed Martin or Raytheon, making taxpayers wonder if weapons contracts were awarded with future paychecks in mind.
  • Pharma: FDA leaders frequently take jobs with pharmaceutical giants like Pfizer, fueling suspicions of favoritism.

But here’s the difference: in those cases, the door usually swings toward the industry itself. Regulators end up working for the businesses they once policed.

With the ATF, it’s not the gun industry that attracts former leadership — it’s anti-gun advocacy groups like Everytown and Giffords. That’s what makes this so unusual. Instead of cozying up to the regulated side, they consistently end up on the side lobbying to restrict it.

But the trend is clear. ATF leaders don’t leave government and join pro-gun organizations. They don’t end up at the NRA, Gun Owners of America, or Second Amendment Foundation. They head straight for groups lobbying to curtail gun rights. And as far as we can tell, there are no known cases of senior ATF officials taking leadership roles with gun rights groups or the firearms industry itself.

The revolving door tells its own story. And if the story is that ATF’s top officials see their futures not with the people they regulate, but with those lobbying to restrict them, then maybe the real question isn’t whether ATF is anti-gun — it’s whether it ever could be anything else.

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