七年来，美国保护公众免受枪支、爆炸物和纵火犯罪侵害的主要机构首次有了一位经参议院确认的主任。

史蒂夫·德特巴赫周二在华盛顿酒精、火器、烟草和爆炸物管理局由司法部长梅里克·加兰在他的家人和朋友面前宣誓就职。

Dettelbach是一名职业检察官，曾担任俄亥俄州北区的联邦检察官，他说这是“他职业生涯的荣誉”他是自2015年以来第一位获得国会批准的该机构负责人。乔·拜登总统之前的提名人被撤回，部分原因是外界反对他的枪支管制政策。

Dettelbach也面临着枪支组织的批评，随后在本月早些时候以48比46的投票结果得到了确认，并受到了其他执法部门的赞扬。

“你们不仅拥有我的承诺和与你们并肩战斗的誓言，还拥有我的心灵，我的灵魂，你们拥有我能给予的一切来加入你们的努力，”他周二对聚集的人群说。

他补充说，美国今天面临的一些主要挑战，包括枪支暴力、大规模枪击和极端主义的发生率，也是ATF可以帮助解决的问题。

他指了指伊利诺伊州高地公园游行大屠杀7月4日，当ATF帮助追查涉案枪支时;他说，该机构还协助在1993年世贸中心爆炸案的废墟中寻找证据。

Dettelbach说，“这将需要我们这个国家的所有人，在执法方面”，以解决该国不断上升的暴力和大规模枪击事件的威胁。

“法治是唯一驱使我的东西——有一套法律来管理这个国家的每个人，没有人可以凌驾于它之上，”他说。

US Attorney General Merrick Garland following the ceremonial swearing-in of Steven Dettelbach as the second person to be confirmed by Congress as the Director of The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) at the ATF headquarters, on...Show moreundefined

塞缪尔·科勒姆/盖蒂图片社

司法部长称赞了德特巴赫，并感谢他重返司法部。

“他明白ATF的使命从未像今天这样紧迫，”加兰说。“今年，我们一次又一次地被悲剧性地提醒，ATF在保护我们的社区免受枪支暴力的斗争中发挥了重要作用。”

ATF's first Senate-confirmed chief in 7 years is sworn in: 'Mission has never been more urgent'

For the first time in seven years, the country's lead agency on protecting the public from crimes involving firearms, explosives and arson has a Senate-confirmed director.

Steve Dettelbach was sworn in on Tuesday by Attorney General Merrick Garland in front of his family and friends at the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco and Explosives in Washington.

Dettelbach, a career prosecutor who previously served as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, said it was "the honor of his professional life." He is the first congressionally approved chief of the agency since 2015. President Joe Biden's previous nominee was withdrawn in part because of outside opposition to his gun control politics.

Dettelbach -- who also faced criticism from gun groups -- was subsequently confirmed earlier this month in a 48-46 vote and drew praise from other law enforcement.

"You have not just my promise and my vow to fight with you, but you have my heart, my soul, you have everything that I can give to try to join you in this effort," he told the assembled crowd on Tuesday.

He added that some of the major challenges facing the country today -- including rates of gun violence, mass shootings and extremism -- are also the issues the ATF can help with.

He pointed to theHighland Park, Illinois, parade massacreon the Fourth of July, when ATF helped trace the gun involved; and, he said, the agency assisted in finding evidence in the rubble of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

"It's going to take all of us in this nation, in law enforcement," to address the country's ongoing threats of rising violence and mass shootings, Dettelbach said.

"The rule of law is the one thing that drives me -- there is one set of laws that governs everyone in the nation, and nobody is above it," he said.

The attorney general lauded Dettelbach and thanked him for returning to the Justice Department.

"He understands that ATF’s mission has never been more urgent than it is today," Garland said. "Time and again this year, we have been tragically reminded of the essential role that ATF plays in the fight to protect our communities from gun violence."