bureau of alcohol tobacco firearms and explosives
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. A unit in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security responsible for enforcing laws relating to firearms and explosives and laws relating to the production, taxation, and distribution of alcohol and tobacco products. • Formerly called the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and a part of the Department of the Treasury, its law-enforcement functions were transferred in the Homeland Security Act of 2002. Pub. L. No. 107-296, 116 Stat. 2135. — Abbr. ATF. Cf. ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU.