According to GOA
paladin
2/8/11 3:54pm
"You are no doubt aware of how the agency has been going after honest gun dealers in recent years. Combine that with byzantine federal laws and regulations -- subject to BATF interpretation -- and it's no wonder the number of FFL holders has decreased almost 80%.
Then there was former National Guardsman David Olofson. In 2008, Olofson's loaned AR-15 malfunctioned at a range -- firing a three-round burst with a single trigger pull. The ATF could only replicate the malfunction after experimenting behind closed doors. Having achieved the result they wanted, the ATF labeled Olofson's gun a machine gun, and he was sentenced to three years in prison for an illegal "transfer."
The agency also put millions of gun owners in its crosshairs when it reclassified shotguns that are equipped with pistol grips. By decreeing in 2009 that such firearms are not "shotguns," the ATF acted as a de facto legislative-making body... quietly turning millions of gun owners into potential criminals overnight.
Of course, failure to register such weapons and pay the required tax would result in the same treatment that David Olofson received.
In late January, Senator Charles Grassley (R-AL) questioned ATF Director Melson about abuses stemming from Project Gunrunner, a program the ATF started in 2005 to stop US guns from getting into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. In order to track illegal gun running, the ATF engages in illegal gun purchases made at gun shows and stores throughout the southwest.
The word is starting to leak out that the ATF has its fingerprints on many of the strawman sales that are grabbing so many headlines. On January 30, newspaper headlines in El Paso, Texas, stated that: "US agency intentionally permits arms to be trafficked into Mexico." So the ATF is actually helping to move illegal guns across the border.
But when Sen. Grassley asked the ATF head for an accounting, the agency instead cracked down on the internal "whistleblowers" who supplied him with the information.
This lack of integrity on the part of ATF management is reminiscent of a 1993 60 Minutes feature story. In it, ATF agent Bob Hoffman stunned interviewer Mike Wallace by saying that "the people I put in jail have more honor than the top administration in this organization."
For over three decades, the ATF has had a record of abuse in their treatment of law-abiding gun owners. Even as far back as 1982, the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution found that 75 percent of ATF gun prosecutions were aimed at ordinary citizens who had "neither criminal intent nor knowledge," but were "enticed by agents" into unknowing technical violations." :>/
Pal
Then there was former National Guardsman David Olofson. In 2008, Olofson's loaned AR-15 malfunctioned at a range -- firing a three-round burst with a single trigger pull. The ATF could only replicate the malfunction after experimenting behind closed doors. Having achieved the result they wanted, the ATF labeled Olofson's gun a machine gun, and he was sentenced to three years in prison for an illegal "transfer."
The agency also put millions of gun owners in its crosshairs when it reclassified shotguns that are equipped with pistol grips. By decreeing in 2009 that such firearms are not "shotguns," the ATF acted as a de facto legislative-making body... quietly turning millions of gun owners into potential criminals overnight.
Of course, failure to register such weapons and pay the required tax would result in the same treatment that David Olofson received.
In late January, Senator Charles Grassley (R-AL) questioned ATF Director Melson about abuses stemming from Project Gunrunner, a program the ATF started in 2005 to stop US guns from getting into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. In order to track illegal gun running, the ATF engages in illegal gun purchases made at gun shows and stores throughout the southwest.
The word is starting to leak out that the ATF has its fingerprints on many of the strawman sales that are grabbing so many headlines. On January 30, newspaper headlines in El Paso, Texas, stated that: "US agency intentionally permits arms to be trafficked into Mexico." So the ATF is actually helping to move illegal guns across the border.
But when Sen. Grassley asked the ATF head for an accounting, the agency instead cracked down on the internal "whistleblowers" who supplied him with the information.
This lack of integrity on the part of ATF management is reminiscent of a 1993 60 Minutes feature story. In it, ATF agent Bob Hoffman stunned interviewer Mike Wallace by saying that "the people I put in jail have more honor than the top administration in this organization."
For over three decades, the ATF has had a record of abuse in their treatment of law-abiding gun owners. Even as far back as 1982, the Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution found that 75 percent of ATF gun prosecutions were aimed at ordinary citizens who had "neither criminal intent nor knowledge," but were "enticed by agents" into unknowing technical violations." :>/
Pal
2,719
Well said!
Bill
Remember when you could go down to the local hardware store and conveniently buy a rifle? And take it home with you? Or buy a gun or ammunition that was conveniently sent to you through the regular mail? It wasn't that long ago. Freedom is slipping through our hands like sand.
Paladin