Category Archives: McClure-Volkmer FOPA

Historical information about the development and passage of the Firearms Owners Protection Act.  The FOPA was a reform of some of the worst abuses of the Gun Control Act of 1968.  Neal Knox planted the seeds of the FOPA when he went to the NRA in 1978.  He accepted the job as Executive Director of ILA on the condition that he be permitted to “declare war on the BATF,”  and in so doing, to “take the NRA into harm’s way.” 

McClure-Volkmer FOPA

1979 BATF Senate Oversight Hearings

The following is a transcript of hearings held in July of 1979 before a subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee tasked with overseeing the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms. These hearings, chaired by Senator Dennis DeConcini (D, AZ), formed much of the cornerstone of the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act. 

“For a number of years we have sought redress for a variety of forms of persecution, often involving outright violation of the law, by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. We believe that when the full picture is seen by the Congress, it will become apparent that the BATF has become a rogue agency, one which has gone completely outside the limitations of statute, regulations, or lawful authority.”
Neal Knox Testimony – July 11, 1979

The issues raised in 1979 are similar to today’s issues.  The law has been reformed, but that reform was incomplete.  

[fiche cite CIS 1980 S181-2]               OVERSIGHT HEARINGS ON BUREAU OF ALCOHOL,                       TOBACCO AND FIREARMS       -----------------------------------------------------

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