NRA Opposes Nomination of Traver to head ATF

As if we didn't already have enough problems from the ATF/BATFE - Obama has nominated anti-gun Traver to head it.

From the NRA-ILA:

Statement from Chris W. Cox, executive director, NRA Institute for Legislative Action

The National Rifle Association of America strongly opposes President Obama's nomination of Andrew Traver as director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE). Traver has been deeply aligned with gun control advocates and anti-gun activities. This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers. Further, an important nomination such as BATFE director should not be made as a "recess appointment," in order to circumvent consent by the American people through their duly-elected U.S. Senators.

Traver served as an advisor to the International Association for Chiefs of Police's (IACP) "Gun Violence Reduction Project," a "partnership" with the Joyce Foundation. Both IACP and the Joyce Foundation are names synonymous with promoting a variety of gun control schemes at the federal and state levels. Most of the individuals involved in this project were prominent gun control activists and lobbyists.

The IACP report, generated with Traver's help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as “assault weapons,” as well as calling for bans on .50 caliber rifles and widely used types of ammunition. The report also suggests that Congress should regulate gun shows out of existence and should repeal the privacy protections of the Tiahrt Amendment -- all efforts strongly opposed by the NRA and its members.

Traver also participated in an extremely deceptive NBC Chicago report in which he referred to "the growing frequency of gang members and drug dealers using heavy caliber military-type weapons" and described them as if they were machine guns: "Pull the trigger and you can mow people down." Traver and his agents provided the reporter with a fully automatic AK-47, with which she was unable to hit the target. He then said that stray bullets are "one of the main problems with having stuff like this available to the gangs."

As the Agent-in-Charge of Chicago’s BATFE office, Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels -- the opposite of what was implied in the report.

An agency involved in the regulation of a fundamental, individual right guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution should not be led by an individual with a demonstrated hostility to that freedom. For that reason, the NRA strongly opposes Andrew Traver to head the BATFE and urges President Obama to withdraw this ill-advised nomination.

--NRA--

Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military.

TX: Austin PD Openly Attacks Freedom

In a flagrant attack on freedom and gun shows, the Austin Texas Police Department in conjunction with BATFE thugs illegally prohibited the private party transfer of personal property by law abiding American Citizens while attending Gun Shows. They had zero legislation with which to support this unconstitutional attack on our freedom, so both organizations are clearly acting outside of the law. You can listen to Alex Jones discuss this on his Jan 18th 2010 radio show in hours 1-4.

This is the type of attack I would not have been surprised to see in Washington DC or Chicago, but not Texas. Most of the Texans I know will not stand for this blatant attack on our liberty.

Update 1: Howard Nemerov has new details - it now looks like the property owner bears more blame than the Austin PD.

Should the BATFE monitor Screwdriver Sales?

Last night a man killed his ex-girlfriend with a screwdriver, which makes it perfectly clear to me why she dumped the looser in the first place. I just wish she would have had a gun to defend herself from the screwdriver wielding man so that the headline could have been that she shot her screwdriver wielding ex-boyfriend in self defense.

In light of this tragic use of the common screwdriver, is the Brady Campaign going to demand that the BATFE get involved with licensing screwdriver dealers in order to monitor screwdriver sales? Shall we rename the BATFE to BATFES for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Screwdrivers?

Hardware stores used to sell firearms before the BATFE began regulating gun sales which made many of the hardware stores decide to pull out of the gun sale business to avoid the hassle. Could we soon have to make a separate stop at screwdriver stores licensed by the BATFES when looking for the common screwdriver? Would regulating screwdriver sales prevent ANY senseless screwdriver deaths by screwdriver wielding thugs?

No? I don't think so either. It wouldn't work any better than regulating nail guns.

BATFE Steps on the States with Federal Boots

The ATF commonly known as Batty BATFE (primarily a group of power hungry Jack Booted Thugs whom no longer find it satisfying to go after criminals so they now waste our tax Dollars persecuting law abiding citizens), has stated in a letter to Federal Firearms Licensees that it intends to continue to ignore the Constitution & State Sovereignty. Their move was in response to multiple States which passed legislation this year stating what should be obvious which is that the Federal Government has absolutely NO POWER NOR AUTHORITY granted to it to regulate firearms that do not participate in Interstate Commerce, such as firearms fully manufactured within a given State marked for sale only to residents of that State.

Unfortunately this is no surprise for me, simply yet another exhibit of disrespect by the ATF for the protections built into the Constitution.

OUCH! $125 Gun Transfer fees in DC!

Sebastian has the details. I'm sure law abiding DC residents will be glad that they will finally be able to buy a gun but $125 is a high price to pay for doing the ATF regulated background check & paperwork for a gun dealer transfer. I guess a $125 gun transfer fee is the price you pay when there is only one gun dealer in town. Hopefully this will inspire a little friendly market competition.

Cavalry Arms Update

As an update to the ATF Cavalry Arms Raid, there is some good news:

. . . While we are waiting for this situation to be resolved, Cavalry Arms will remain open for business and continue operations to the best of our ability. Since we were unable to get a decision on the manufacturing variance we had asked for, we arranged for (at great difficulty and expense) and rented the equipment necessary to resumed production of the CAV-15 at our licensed premises. Receivers and rifles and have begun shipping again to fill back orders. Production of firearms, firearm accessories and medical kits will continue uninterrupted throughout this situation. With the return of our computers, we are working on reconstituting our resources. Our business situation is more normal and stable than it was directly after the search and seizure.

Our continued existence as a business can be directly attributed to the overwhelming support we have received from our customers and most importantly from the shooting community as a whole. We cannot thank enough everyone who has helped us, and we appreciate your continued support . . .

H/T to Say Uncle & Freedom Sight.

Olofson sentenced to 30 months Prison for Malfunction

Yesterday Mr. Olofson was convicted & sentenced to 30 months in Prison for lending out a gun that malfunctioned (see my earlier post on this topic). All because the ATF decided to persecute, I mean prosecute, him. Yet we allow dangerous felons out on the streets due to Prison over-crowding. What is this world coming to.

H/T to Armed & Safe.

HR 4900 - Reign in the ATF

Armed & Safe has an update on HR 4900. If you have not already, be sure to contact your representatives to ask that they co-sponsor or at least vote for HR 4900, a bill designed to reign in the ATF abuses. H/T to Sebastian.

ATF: Monster without a Master

We really need to reign in the ATF (also known as the BATFE - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives). Overall the ATF has become a monster that no longer answers to the American people and appears to be on a witch hunt. They're harassing Red's Trading post over having some forms with the y/n instead of yes/no. They recently raided a gun manufacturer here in my home State of Arizona (Cavalry Arms) taking their entire inventory & all of their computers & have yet to tell them what they are looking for, what they will be charged with, if anything, or when they'll get their confiscated stuff back.

The ATF prosecuted & won a Felony conviction of a highly respected honorably discharged Army Veteran & Army Reserves serviceman (David Olofson) for having a semi auto rifle that malfunctioned while on a gun range & slam fired (malfunction that causes rifle to shoot twice & jam instead of the normal one shot per trigger pull). He has already been convicted of a federal firearms felony in Federal Court back in March but he is still awaiting sentencing, which is scheduled for May 15th. The standard sentence is prescribed to be from 18 months to 6 years in Federal Prison & a fine of up to $250,000.00. He is a law abiding citizen with absolutely no criminal record & is a Father to 3 children. It is reprehensible that the ATF would throw an American Citizen in Federal Prison just because his gun malfunctioned. This is an OUTRAGE! The full story is here on CNN: Part 1 and Part 2.

Also check out this preview of the ATF documentary "The Gang" by Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership:



Please write your Senators, President Bush, & Senator McCain (anyone running for President should take a stand on this issue, and I doubt Clinton or Obama would be of much help). Ask them to grant either a congressional or presidential pardon, and to find a way to regain control of the ATF monster that our Congress has created & allowed to run loose on the American people for so many years. The ATF has grown into an overgrown excessively powerful tyrannical monster that is in the midst of throwing a temper tantrum, and the lives of innocent American Citizens are being destroyed as a direct result.

Doesn't the ATF have some illegal alcohol, tobacco, explosives, or firearm traffickers that they can go after instead of harassing innocent American Citizens over a y on a form or for owning a malfunctioning weapon? If the ATF can't be reigned in, then simply dismantle it & create some other way to monitor tobacco & alcohol sales. Put the Boy Scouts in charge, they are much more respectable & trustworthy. The ATF was created during the great Alcohol prohibition & it should have been dismantled when we got rid of that stupid prohibition. Instead congress kept them around like an overgrown pet bulldog & gave it new jobs to do. These BATFE atrocities have gone on way too long, it is well past time that they come to an end.

The ATF will probably come raid my home now because I'm openly calling for their dismantlement. Go ahead, come take my guns. Just make sure you knock on my door first because if you simply break down my door & rush in during the middle of the night I could mistake you for a common criminal & I will protect my family. After you confiscate all of my stuff maybe you can figure out a way to force one of my guns to malfunction so you can mislabel it a machine gun & throw me in jail too. Perhaps I'll get a cell next to Olofson. While you're here, please take all my paperwork too so that I won't have to file my taxes this year. April 15th is coming up soon & I hate paying the government every single year.

Is it just me or does anyone else feel we're all paying more than our fair share? I mean taxes & regulation cause about 50% of the cost of the products we buy during the production, transportation, storage, and manufacturing processes. They tax my income, then they tax the capital gains that I get by investing what little income I had left over after they taxed it. Then they tax the products I buy with sales tax. Then they tax the property I buy every single year just for the privilege of owning it. If all that wasn't enough, when I die they'll tax whatever I have left again in the form of the DEATH tax. Can't they let well enough alone? Can't I even go to my own grave without being taxed in death after already having been taxed to death my entire life?

Don't TREAD ON ME, and STOP TREADING ON MY FELLOW CITIZENS! It PISSES gun owning Americans off, and you should not forget that we are armed & maintain the same spirit of resistance to tyranny that we inherited from our forefathers who fought & died to build this great Nation. Keep your dance of tyranny up & eventually you'll step on enough of us to awaken the sleeping dragon that is the American People.

If I lived in Cuba I would not be able to write this & live to see a new day. Luckily the 1st Amendment protects my freedom of speech, and the 2nd Amendment protects my right to bear arms. Between the two I should live through the weekend. If I don't, please send some nice flowers to my funeral, I like the Water Lillie best.

Update 1: Speaking of the Devil - saysuncle has info about the ATF raiding the wrong house - breaking down doors & using tear gas. No wonder the ATF is affectionately called a group of Jack Booted Thugs by those in the know. Don't they know where the freaking doorbell is? I can understand them not knowing that a Y stands for Yes, but come on, even my 3 year old can find the doorbell.

ATF raid on Cavalry Arms on Feb 27

Yesterday on Feb 27th, the ATF raided Cavalry Arms in Gilbert, Arizona. I have no details yet as to the ALLEGATIONS of federal firearms violations used to get the federal search & seizure warrant, but my first guess would be that this is yet another ATF abuse of power. In the video interview the ATF agent said they planned to TAKE the entire inventory due to ALLEGATIONS but did not specify what the ALLEGATIONS were. I guess the ATF plan of action is to take the inventory first, then spend years in court trying to prove the allegations. The ATF probably hopes to run Cavalry Arms out of business in the process as it may be difficult to continue doing business without any inventory. An estimate was given by ABC news of around 1000 firearms confiscated without compensation.

The ATF agent incorrectly called the mid powered AR-15 rifles they confiscated "High Powered" military type Rifles. What a moron. Shouldn't an ATF agent that commonly deals with guns know what a high powered rifle looks like? A common .30-06 hunting rifle is twice as powerful as an AR-15 5.56 mm round, and the .30-06 is not even the most powerful hunting rifle in use. Get a clue, an AR-15 is NOT HIGH POWERED! Enough with the lies & propaganda for crying out loud.

More from David, Red's Trading Post, Nicki, SayUncle, AnArchAngel, and ColtCCO.

Update 1: See this update.

Nail Gun Regulations?

Richard Williams was sentenced yesterday to life in prison without parole for murdering his wife with a nail gun. My heart goes out to their children & extended family members for their tragic loss. Richard's attorney tried to blame the murder on depression. That often works but did not this time. I was surprised he didn't blame it on the excessive availability of unregulated nail guns. It is after all the nature of anti gun folks to blame anything & everything for causing violence other than the actual criminal who performed the violence.

I suddenly wondered how often nail gun violence takes place, so I did a google search for "nail gun death" and there were about 197,000 results. With all of that nail gun violence out there, why hasn't the Brady campaign asked for legislation regulating nail guns? They are after all supposed to be interested in stopping all forms of violence are they not?

They could campaign for new legislation requiring the ATF (BATFE) to issue FNLs (Federal Nailgun Licenses) to all Nail gun dealers. The BATFE would be renamed to the BATFEN (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives, and Nail guns), and nail gun dealers would be required to run a background check on all purchasers of Nail guns. All Nail guns would be issued a unique serial number that investigators could use to locate the original nail gun purchaser. The ATF could then harass all Nail gun dealers for allowing customers to place a Y instead of a Yes on their forms or for abbreviating the county name. BATFE agents can't be expected to know what a Y means after all.

But no, the Brady folks won't be calling for any such thing. Why? Because they know such tactics would not work to reduce violence. In fact, reducing violence doesn't even appear to be what they are actually after. They simply hate guns, and want them to be outlawed altogether. Why else would they be in support of the DC handgun ban which not only did not reduce violence in DC, but actually increased it?

Red's Trading Post: And yet another ATF audit...Enough is Enough!

Red's Trading Post: And yet another ATF audit...Enough is Enough!

If you have not heard about some of the abuses being made by the ATF against law abiding gun dealers in what appears to be an attempt to shut them down for trivial items such as placing a y instead of a yes on the gun sale form, then you really need to check out the above blog. I sent an email to the DOJ Office of the Inspector General with the following:

Please ask the ATF to stop harassing Red's Trading Post. Seriously - why are my hard earned tax dollars being wasted trying to shut down a law abiding business owner by running audits over & over & trying to shut his business down? The ATF is complaining about small "errors" on forms on 0.4% of over 10,000 gun sale records such as abbreviating a county or placing a y instead of a yes. Even an ATF agent should be able to understand y/n answers or an abbreviated county for crying out loud.

The ATF should only harass gun dealers that do something ILLEGAL such as purposely selling guns to criminals for resale in the black market. Not dealers who placed a y instead of a yes. If the ATF wants to give the dealer a small fine for such non-conformities than fine, but don't try to shut him down.

Seriously, doesn't the ATF have some real criminals to go after so they can stop wasting their time & my tax dollars on such a violation of civil rights? Does the ATF really want to be known as the organization that started the WACO disaster AND harasses law abiding gun dealers? We don't live in Cuba for crying out loud. This is the United States of America.

I have already written to both of my Senators asking them to reign in the ATF to get it to stop the abuses - too many law abiding gun shops have been run out of business due to this type of harassment, and the legal fees & revenue losses are costing Red's hundreds of thousands of dollars. See if you can nip this in the butt before the legislature has to get involved.

Thanks for your time.