We reported how the gun-ban organization that calls itself Everytown for Gun Safety went ballistic after the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced its 34-rule reform package — the largest rollback of regulatory overreach in a generation.

Now the group is doubling down on its anti-gun temper tantrum, writing in a recent off-the-rails op-ed at smokinggun.org that new ATF Director Robert Cekada, a longtime ATF agent, is “leaning into right-wing politics in a way that no previous director has.”

Cekada is too pro-Second Amendment for Everytown’s liking

In the op-ed, headlined “The New ATF Director Is Going Out Of His Way To Appeal To Gun Groups,” author Justin Wagner claimed, “Cekada has gone out of his way to prove that the agency has turned a new leaf in an effort to appease gun groups, particularly those that represent the business interests of the gun industry.”

Wagner also criticized Cekada for appearing on a news show he considers to be “right-wing,” while he himself writes for decidedly left-wing publications.

“For example, he recently appeared on Newsmax to criticize cities and states that prohibit assault weapons and high-capacity magazines for ‘trying to make rubbish of the Second Amendment,'” he wrote. “He also said the Department of Justice was doing a ‘wonderful job fighting back’ against those public safety measures in court.”

One man’s “public safety measure” is another man’s Second Amendment infringement

Obviously, one man’s “public safety measure” is another man’s “Second Amendment infringement.” In the case of so-called “assault weapons” and normal-capacity magazines that are regularly sold with firearms, it’s likely the Supreme Court will eventually rule all such bans unconstitutional.

Did it never occur to the author that Cekada is simply trying to right the wrong that was done when the Biden Administration weaponized the ATF and DOJ against lawful gun owners, and law-abiding gun makers and dealers?

Cekada met with Colion Noir — and Wagner can’t handle it

Wagner also took issue with Cekada’s recent meeting with gun-rights influencer Colion Noir, who Wagner characterized as a person who “regularly rails against common-sense gun safety measures.”

“While the ATF has dramatically sped up its handling of NFA applications in recent years, Cekada told Noir that he had tasked the agency with finding ways to speed up approvals even further under Trump, even calling in DOGE for an assist, and was ‘completely impressed’ when his son got approved to own a silencer in 48 hours,” Wagner further complained. “Cekada also used the moment to tout the new ATF proposal making it easier for people to cross state lines with silencers and other NFA weapons, which he said will help people join ‘short notice’ hunting trips.”

In truth, Noir is an attorney, an avid shooter, and an eloquent voice for the Second Amendment. One man’s “railing” is another man’s “advocacy,” I suppose.

Wagner thinks NFA red tape should be more time-consuming — which says everything

Furthermore, requiring any kind of paperwork on suppressors and other NFA items is not only unjust but arguably unconstitutional. For Wagner to wish the obtrusive red tape was more time-consuming is an admission that he has little knowledge of suppressors and their use. In fact, suppressors are used on hunting rifles more and more each year, and with the $200 tax now gone, we’ll all see more suppressors in hunt camp this fall.

Wagner wants the Biden-era ATF back — and that’s the giveaway

Ultimately, it seems that Wagner’s idea of what the ATF should be doing is exactly what Biden did with the agency during his failed presidency. Making the Second Amendment more difficult to exercise was a main hallmark of President Joe Biden’s four years in office.

Just because things are moving back toward where they should have been all along doesn’t make Cekada some kind of enemy of America, as Wagner seems to believe.