WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Wednesday released the following statement after meeting with Steve Dettelbach, director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) nominee:

“As more than 100 people die by gun violence every day, it’s unacceptable that the agency responsible for enforcing federal gun laws and cracking down on gun trafficking criminals has been leaderless for the last seven years. With Dettelbach at the helm, ATF will be able to step up its enforcement of existing gun laws and efforts to disrupt gun trafficking rings and track down sources of illegal ghost guns. A strong ATF is critical to our all-hands-on-deck fight to end gun violence, and I’m hopeful for his confirmation,” said Murphy.

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