"Moving the goalposts" is a metaphor, derived from goal- based sports, that means to change the criteria (goal) of a process or competition while it is still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one side an intentional advantage or disadvantage. The term is often used in business or politics to imply bad faith on the part of those setting goals for others to meet, by arbitrarily making additional demands just as the initial ones are about to be met. Accusations of this form of abuse tend to occur when there are unstated assumptions that are obvious to one party but not to another. There are many who would claim, with some serious justification, that the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), specifically, employ such methods on a regular basis, often without notice or alert. And while the process of Rule Making, as outlined in the Administrative Procedures Act demands such notice in terms of regulations, there is generally no mandate to let the regulated know the terms by which they will be regulated. Such is the case with a variety of aspects under the purview of the ATF.
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