During this time, organized crime was born out of the need to have a unified chain of alcohol manufacturers and smugglers. Prohibition lasted thirteen years until its repeal by the Twenty-first Amendment to the Constitution on December 5, 1933. In 1934, the National Firearms Act was passed in response to the massive amounts of weapons that organized crime used during prohibition. It was a tax on firearms and it fell under the jurisdiction of the Department of Revenue. .
The Gun Control Act of 1968 marked the formation of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) as we know it today, both regulating and enforcing laws dealing not only with alcohol, tobacco and firearms, but explosives as well. They also support and assist all levels of domestic and international law enforcement when called upon to do so. ATF is responsible for developing the first Integrated Ballistics Identification System that is a computer program that can match the weapon to the ammunition that is fired from it. ATF collects an estimated thirteen billion dollars annually from the taxes on related industries.
The Mission and Philosophy of the ATF.
The ATF is a branch of the Department of Justice that prides itself on high standard and integrity and is specifically dedicated to reducing violent crime and protecting the public through close partnerships with other branches of law enforcement. The main goals of the ATF are containment and prevention of crimes by enforcing rules and regulation, and by working with communities all across the country. They aim to make the revenue collection they oversee as fair and suitable as is possible and to make sure the regulations set for the industries they serve as reasonable and efficient as can be. ATF will assist all forms of law enforcement whenever necessary and will also provide the needed training to make regulators and investigators well equipped to curb criminal acts and keep businesses operating legally.