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President Biden’s Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) sent out a tasteless tweet on Monday urging Americans to turn in their current and former partners’ alleged “illegal gun activity” to the agency as a “fun” and memorable Valentine’s Day activity.
“Valentine’s Day can still be fun even if you broke up,” the agency tweeted. “Do you have information about a former (or current) partner involved in illegal gun activity?”
“Let us know, and we will make sure it’s a Valentine’s Day to remember!” the tweet quipped. “Call 1-888-ATF-TIPS or email [email protected].”
After being asked about the tweet in an email on Monday, an ATF spokesperson told Fox News Digital that the “fight to protect the public from firearm-related violence is not just up to law enforcement; it’s a partnership between our communities and law enforcement.”
Valentine's Day can still be fun even if you broke up. Do you have information about a former (or current) partner involved in illegal gun activity? Let us know, and we will make sure it's a Valentine's Day to remember! Call 1-888-ATF-TIPS or email [email protected]. pic.twitter.com/OdDIPdIzkr
— ATF HQ (@ATFHQ) February 14, 2022
“We look to those who live within the communities we protect, to provide law enforcement with real-time intelligence as to violent offenders,” the spokesperson noted. “Like many law enforcement agencies, our tip lines enable citizens to report suspicious activities generally, or to provide information about particular crimes.”
“This tweet was generated to ask our followers to report illegal gun trafficking, which directly impacts violent crime nationwide,” they added.
The tweet, which was head-shakingly retweeted by the Department of Justice, comes amid a push by the White House to reduce gun crime.
The Nash County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina also shared a similar cringy post on Facebook that asked people to turn in an ex-partner with outstanding warrants against them on Valentine’s Day.
The Department of Justice deployed “firearms trafficking strike forces” to Chicago, New York City, and other areas with high volumes of gun violence last year. The department reported in January that the strike forces have resulted in the confiscation of thousands of guns.
The ATF is also reportedly maintaining a database that contains nearly one billion firearm transaction records.
The Biden administration has recently pushed executive action to curb the use of so-called ghost guns, which can be assembled at home by the user and are difficult to trace. Many consider the move just another transparent effort to quell Second Amendment rights.
The president is still facing challenges implementing his agenda on gun violence. The White House withdrew Biden’s nominee to lead the ATF, David Chipman, in September last year after extreme pushback because many saw his views as anti-Second Amendment, and no new nominee has been put forward.
Although the tweet apparently was meant as a lame attempt at humor, it offended many out there and critics worried that it could prompt vindictive exes and significant others to “swat” their partners, potentially leading to false reporting and dangerous confrontations.
Twitter users dogpiled on the ATF over the tweet with many mocking Hunter Biden in the process:
Hunter Biden lied on a Form 4473 to purchase a gun he wasn't legally allowed to possess. Is that still a crime, or is it okay if you're the corrupt, crackhead son of the president? https://t.co/oPTAbUPeYH
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) February 14, 2022
I know this person that massacred 70 people in Waco and ran illegal guns to Mexican drug cartels that were used to kill a US border patrol agent.
Her name is the ATF. https://t.co/Ef1hyOzu0C
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 14, 2022
What if it’s your own government for a gun-running op called Fast and Furious? Weren’t you guys involved in that? https://t.co/elw4iq9JR0
— Dana Loesch (@DLoesch) February 14, 2022
so uh… this is kind of psychotic
— Jessica O’Donnell (@heckyessica) February 14, 2022
He’s not a former or current partner, but here’s a tip regarding an illegal gun purchase.
Name: Robert Hunter Biden: pic.twitter.com/CCNuhw9qxE— Deb Heine, Dissident (@NiceDeb) February 14, 2022
You mean like this guy? pic.twitter.com/eBpRs9MwBT
— Truckistani Underground Poso 🚛 (@JackPosobiec) February 14, 2022
In a time when more Americans than ever are worried about authoritarian government action you thought this was a good idea to tweet.
— THE FALL OF IDEALS 15 YEAR CELEBRATION TOUR! (@philthatremains) February 14, 2022
Teehee, hate your ex? Teehee, call us and we’ll yeet ’em up like we did the kids at Waco, teehee! Look how campy and cute we are, teehee!
— Jay Sus (@Jay_Carl_Sus) February 14, 2022
You may want to talk to Barack Obama and Eric Holder.
— The Kirbler (@Kirbler15) February 14, 2022
This is very slimy of you guys to try to twist this day for your own benefit by encouraging people to turn on one another.
— Beatrice Cardenas (@RealBetyCardens) February 14, 2022
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