ATF Inspector Seizes Gun Store Records Without A Warrant

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/08/atf-inspector-seizes-gun-store-records-without-a-warrant;Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

ATF Police Raid IMG instagram.com/atfhq/
ATF Police Raid IMG instagram.com/atfhq/

A Florida-based Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Industry Operations Inspector (IOI) seized a federal firearms licensee’s (FFL) completed ATF Form 4473s and bound book to take off-site to make copies violating federal law. The IOI would return the documents a week later.

Last week, Kiloton Tactical joined a coalition of FFLs led by Eric Blandford of the Iraqveteran8888 YouTube channel and vowed to sue the ATF over the Biden Administration’s zero-tolerance policy for FFLs. The lawsuit has now been filed with the illegal actions of the IOI front and center in the complaint.

According to 18 U.S.C. 923(g)(1)(A), FFLs must maintain records such as a bound book and copies of the ATF Form 4473, which Kiloton Tactical did maintain. During an inspection, an IOI is able to look over records for policy violations but does not have the authority to inspect the documents off-site. This action is expressly prohibited by 27 CFR § 478.23(cd).

The statute reads: “The inspections and examinations provided by this section do not authorize an ATF officer to seize any records or documents other than those records or documents constituting material evidence of a violation of law. If an ATF officer seizes such records or documents, copies shall be provided to the licensee within a reasonable time.”

At the time of the seizure, no wrongdoing was suspected. The IOI insisted he was within his legal rights to remove the documents from the store. The IOI’s deviation put him at odds with federal law.

The ATF’s IOI handbook doubles down on forbidding an IOI from removing records from a business. The ATF has been slow to release the IOI handbook to the public, and when they finally did, the document was heavily redacted. AmmoLand News acquired an unredacted copy of the guide from our sources inside the ATF. Every IOI is responsible for knowing the policies laid out in the handbook, but the ATF employee ignored page 10 of the handbook, which expressly prohibits IOIs from making any seizures.

IOI Manual Forbiding Seizures

Later in the same guide, the ATF states that all inspections should be done at the FFL’s location. There is no exception for carrying out an inspection of records off-site. The IOI in question violated the ATF’s own policies and violated federal law. To many, this is just another example of a lack of training for ATF employees. Others believe that ATF employees think they are above the law due to a culture of government overreach.

Page 46 Of The IOI Manual

The Biden administration has empowered the ATF to shut down gun stores for small clerical errors. President Joe Biden claims the new zero-tolerance policy only affects “rogue gun dealers,” but in practice, many more small gun stores are being targeted. FFL revocations are up between 350% and 500%, rising to a 17-year high.

IOIs no longer have the discretion to determine whether a violation is willful. Instead of revocation being the last option, it is becoming the default action by the ATF over minor errors. The zero-tolerance policies have significantly impacted the firearms market, decreasing the number of gun stores across the country and ending the livelihood of not only the stores’ owners but also the employees of the businesses.

One organization that has sounded the alarm against the ATF overreach is Gun Owners of America (GOA). GOA has a lawsuit of its own in North Dakota against the zero-tolerance policy. GOA Senior Vice President Erich Pratt has pledged to help the FFL Coalition’s efforts in any way possible.

“The ATF is out of control, and both Congress and the Courts have an obligation to rein them in! GOA fully supports the FFL Coalition’s efforts to halt the weaponization of the ATF, and thus protect honest gun dealers around the country,” Pratt told AmmoLand News. “Left unchecked, Biden’s Zero Tolerance policy will cripple the gun industry and make it virtually impossible for law-abiding Americans to purchase firearms and exercise their rights.”

The actions of the IOI show the agency’s problems are systemic and highly politicized, leaving us with one solution: defund the ATF.

ATF Inspector Seizes Gun Store Records Without A Warrant by AmmoLand Shooting Sports News on Scribd


About John Crump

John is an NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

ATF Intimidating Another Home-Based Gun Dealer to Surrender FFL

ATF Intimidating Another Home-Based Gun Dealer to Surrender FFL

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/07/atf-intimidating-another-home-based-gun-dealer-to-surrender-ffl/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

U.S.A. — Tom Harris has been selling guns from his Lewisville, Texas home for 30 years. He is so respected and beloved by his customers that one gave him a kidney – literally – which saved his life.

Dialysis wasn’t working well for Harris, owner of Sporting Arms Company, which he operates from a dedicated space in his home. He had only months to live until a 39-year-old retired Marine offered to help.

“I heard you might need a kidney. I’ll get tested,” Harris recalls the man saying in 2019. “I told him that he and his wife should pray about it first. He said, ‘We already have.’ He was a perfect match – a 7 out of 7. Now, even if I lose my business, it has allowed me to live.”

In what has become standard operating procedure since Joe Biden took office, the ATF is trying to intimidate Harris – and other home-based gun dealers – into surrendering his Federal Firearm License. If he refuses to comply – and he most likely will – Harris will face what ATF calls “adverse actions.”

ATF dug up procedural errors from as far back as 2007 to make their current “case” against Harris, but the ATF had already told Harris he was cleared of these 16-year-old clerical errors, as well as newer ones. He has letters attesting to this. Unfortunately, none of this mattered to the ATF inspectors who recently began persecuting the 61-year-old disabled father of five only to satisfy their supervisors’ newfound zeal for FFL revocations.

“They threw the kitchen sink at me after they cleared me because their bosses weren’t happy with it,” Harris told the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project last week. “They are trying to intimidate me into surrendering my FFL.”

History

Harris has an industrial engineering degree and a master’s degree in management. He worked as a senior director of North American operations for a large tech company while selling guns, often putting in 100-hour weeks. He employed several off-duty local law enforcement officers to help with sales.

“I started selling guns right when the Bill Clinton administration started,” he said. “I’ve always appreciated guns from an engineering viewpoint.”

The business was slow until he received a bit of divine intervention. “A pastor prayed over my business, and it took off,” Harris said.

He describes his gun shop as “general purpose.” Since he has been in business so long, he can buy direct from Colt, Smith & Wesson, and he’s a master Kimber dealer. Harris estimates around 40% of his transfers are “wholesale” to newer dealers.

“Most are gun show guys,” he said. “I did a few gun shows in the early 2000s but got tired and quit.”

Today, he is one of the largest home-based gun dealers in North Texas. He has more than 10,000 customers across the country and has sold more than 184,000 firearms. His 30-plus Google reviews are extremely positive.

Harris has never had any serious discrepancies during ATF audits other than for his penmanship. Harris now qualifies as legally blind, but when his wife quit her job and began helping with the paperwork full-time, this problem was quickly solved.

Unlike some home-based dealers, gun sales are not a hobby for Harris. They’re his sole source of income.

“My 84-year-old mother is now living with us, and three of the five kids are still ‘on the till’ in college,” he said.

The Troubles  

After an audit last year, two ATF special agents asked some pointed questions about multiple firearms Harris sold to an individual.

“They put the squeeze on me, but I answered all their questions and gave them whatever they wanted,” he said.

One of the ATF officials – Special Agent Aaron Loving – told Harris’ attorney he was cleared of any wrongdoing. Harris’s attorney documented this conversation in a letter.

“Agent Loving has informed me that you are no longer the target of any criminal investigation, and there will not be any criminal prosecutions forthcoming,” the letter states.

And then the ATF changed its mind.

A few months later, Special Agent Loving recontacted Harris’ attorney, stating, “We need Tom to give up his license voluntarily. The bosses up the chain want him to turn in his license or face adverse actions,” Harris recalls his attorney saying.

“We thought this was all over,” Harris said.

Last month, Special Agent Loving and his partner personally served a Notice of Revocation to Harris.

Allegations

Harris’ Notice of Revocation contains two violations:

  1. “On 10 occasions, Licensee willfully aided and abetted a non-licensee in dealing firearms without a license as required by the GCA…”
  2. “On 46 occasions, Licensee willfully made a false statement or representation with respect to information required by the GCA …”

Harris has since learned that the individual to whom he sold the firearms is now under investigation by the ATF.

“This individual was a customer of several FFLs,” Harris said. “The ATF had cleared me of any wrongdoing. They alleged I aided and abetted on ten forms, but at the time, the individual was actively being approved for his FFL. All of this was originally approved by the ATF, who said on multiple occasions I followed all the regs.”

ATF Response

Krissy Y. Carlson, ATF’s Director of Industry Operations (DIO) for its Dallas Field Office, signed Harris’ Notice of Revocation. She did not respond to calls or emails seeking her comments for this story.

ATF Special Agent Aaron Loving said, “I can’t – I’m not gonna speak on any active investigations.”

Agent Loving was specifically asked if he told Harris’ attorney that he was no longer the subject of any criminal investigation.

“I cannot speak to any active investigation,” Loving said again.

Instead, Loving offered the name and number of Sara Abel, the PIO for ATF’s Dallas Field Office, but the number he gave did not work.

Takeaways

Like other home-based FFLs, Harris was told nothing would happen if he surrendered his FFL voluntarily. Like other home-based FFLs, ATF wanted more than just compliance and his license.

“They were taking pictures left and right, which I knew was inappropriate,” Harris said. “They used a scanning app on their phones to photograph 4473s. At the end of one session, an inspector demanded a copy of my entire electronic database.”

Harris never handed over the database. He intends to fight.

“On a Monday last January, the ATF called and demanded that I get rid of all my guns by Friday and surrender my license,” Harris said. “They said they’d be here that Friday to sign the paperwork. I knew it wasn’t ATF’s administrative procedure. I knew it was abnormal. I told them I declined to voluntarily surrender my license.”

Said Harris: “I will not be intimidated into surrendering my license.”

One of Harris’ longtime customers has created a GiveSendGo account to help him raise funds for his legal defense.

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

 

Gaetz & Greene Attempt To Zero Out ATF Director’s Paycheck

BY JOHN CRUMP

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/06/gaetz-greene-attempt-to-zero-out-atf-directors-paycheck/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) plan to take on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) overreach by hitting Director Steve Dettlebach where it hurts most, the pocketbook. The two members of the pro-gun House Freedom Caucus plan to take Congressional action to attempt to zero out Dettlebach’s paycheck.

The two Republicans announced the move on Monday at a field hearing in Florida, where people talked about the ATF’s abuse of power. The Bureau has been criticized for tactics many consider heavy-handed and intended to make an environment hostile to the gun industry and firearms owners. Under the Biden administration’s anti-gun plan, the ATF has used its power to curtail the Constitutionally protected rights of Americans to bear arms. These attacks on Americans’ rights include the reclassification of pistols with stabilizing devices as short-barreled rifles that must be registered with the federal government in accordance with the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA). Another attack is the ATF’s attempt to shut down the American tradition of making your own firearm. The ATF changed rules to reclassify unfinished frames and receivers as firearms reversing a history of ATF classification letters.

Multiple federal courts have determined the ATF violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and the rule of lenity by instituting the new rules. Multiple injunctions have been issued by District and Circuit courts blocking the new rules from affecting a large percentage of the population. Although the battle continues, most legal scholars do not think the rules will hold up.

The ATF has also launched an attack on federal firearms licensees (FFL). FFL revocation has increased under Dettlebach’s leadership by a mind-boggling 500%. The ATF has started stripping gun stores of their right to sell guns for minor paperwork errors. The ATF claim to be an industry partner with gun shops, but under Dettlebach’s reign, the Bureau has taken an adversarial role. Many in the industry think President Joe Biden is using the ATF to make it harder for Americans to exercise their constitutionally protected rights.

The ATF has also shown up in force at a local Georgia gun store with out-of-state industry operation inspectors for a massive inspection. The inspection was so out of the ordinary that Rep Taylor Greene responded to the country’s largest gun shop to confront the agents about the inspection. Rep. Taylor Green saw this ATF inspection as ATF overreach.

Rep. Gaetz said the move to eliminate the ATF director’s salary was to “constrain resources that would otherwise be used to put people out of business and to harm our fellow Americans.”

The duo plan on using the Holman Rule to eliminate Dettlebach’s paycheck. The Holman Rule lets members of Congress add amendments to spending bills that can reduce or eliminate funding for programs already authorized by Congress. The act also includes the elimination of salaries for certain government employees, including Directors of federal agencies.

The Holman Rule was resurrected by Speaker of The House Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as a part of a deal with the House Freedom Caucus during tense negotiation during McCarthy’s bid to capture the Speaker’s gavel. The Freedom Caucus has increased its power in recent years and has used that power to force votes on things such as disavowing the ATF’s pistol brace rule.

It is unknown if the move to zero out Dettlebach’s paycheck will succeed, but it does show a willingness to confront the ATF by certain House members, and those members call the ATF’s top brass to the carpet.

 

 


About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

  

SOUTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR Kristi Noem warns Biden wants to ‘enslave’ the U.S.~What Happens When Millions of Gun Owners Become Felons May 31st 2023?

What Happens When Millions of Gun Owners Become Felons May 31st 2023?

BY THOMAS CONROY

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/04/chairman-jordan-to-atf-what-happens-when-million-gun-owners-become-felons;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

U.S.A. — In a heated exchange during the House Judiciary Committee’s Oversight hearing of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on April 26th, Chairman Jim Jordan questioned ATF Director Steven Dettelbach on the upcoming deadline for pistol brace owners.

On May 31st, 2023, millions of American gun owners could potentially become felons for possessing pistol braces, a fact that Dettelbach acknowledged.

Jordan questioned Dettelbach on the impact that this rule change would have on millions of Americans.

Jim Jordan: “..so you told them [American Gun Owners] not once but twice that it was okay, and I’m just asking does it bother you now that [what] you are doing, that you’re making the change that’s going to impact millions of Americans?”

The ATF Director replied that the rule was necessary to address inconsistencies in the definition of pistol braces. He further explained that specific products get presented for classification, and these products sometimes change. Therefore, the rule change was necessary to ensure consistency.

Jordan then accused Dettelbach of contradicting what ATF had previously told American citizens, and now millions of law-abiding citizens will be impacted by this rule change. Dettelbach denied this accusation, stating that only specific products would be impacted, and those impacted individuals would have several options, including detaching the brace from the firearm and keeping both, attaching the brace to another firearm, removing or destroying the brace, getting a longer barrel, turning in or destroying the firearm, or registering the firearm.

Jordan then asked what would happen to those who do not take any of these actions and let the deadline expire.

Dettelbach replied that it would depend on the facts and circumstances of each case, and if a person were unaware, they would not be prosecuted, even though they were now breaking newly created rules. However, if they were aware, they could potentially become a felon.

Jordan also questioned how the ATF would enforce this rule and questioned Dettelbach whether ATF would inspect people at gun ranges or go to manufacturers and look for lists of people they sold braces to. Dettelbach mumbled something about ATF would consider it as one of the charges when doing a search warrant in a drug case and discovering an unlawful item.

Finally, Jordan asked if the Gun Control Act or the National Firearms Act clearly and unambiguously prohibits pistol braces. Dettelbach replied that it doesn’t prohibit anything and calls for increased controls on short-barreled rifles. Jordan cited a court decision this week in the Sixth Circuit, where the court ruled that the statute does not clearly and unambiguously prohibit bump stocks. In that ruling, the court also stated that for a decade, the ATF maintained that a bump stock was not a machine gun part, and the ATF’s own flip-flop on this position is one of the reasons why the court ruled in favor of those opposing the rule.

The exchange between Jordan and Dettelbach was intense.

The ATF’s flip-flopping on rules and Dettelbach’s inability to answer questions about the impact of the rule change on millions of Americans is a serious issue for American gun owners, whose only crime was following those same rules. The lack of accountability and poor decision-making by a rogue federal agency raises concerns about the risk of law-abiding citizens being turned into felons. The exchange was intense, with Jordan accusing Dettelbach of contradicting himself. At the same time, Dettelbach defended the Biden-ATF’s decision, stating that it was necessary to ensure consistency and address inconsistencies in the definition of pistol braces.

__________________________________________________________________

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/04/congressman-gaetz-grills-atf-director-dettelbach

SEE ALSO: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/04/dems-2023-war-on-guns-continues-battles-in-minnesota-pennsylvania

 

Weaponized ATF, IRS Intimidate Enemies of the Biden Regime

Weaponized ATF, IRS Intimidate Enemies of the Biden Regime

BY ROBERT SPENCER

SEE: https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/robert-spencer/2023/03/28/atf-and-irs-show-how-the-biden-regime-has-weaponized-government-agencies-n1682258;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

The days when it could be taken for granted that government agencies were impartial, nonpartisan, and dedicated to carrying out their responsibilities in a fair and even-handed manner are long gone. As Stephen Green pointed out Tuesday, on the very same day that journalist Matt Taibbi of Twitter Files fame was testifying before the House’s Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) was offering a precise and unmistakable illustration of that weaponization by showing up, unannounced of course, at his home. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) on Monday suddenly raided a gun store in Smyrna, Ga., where — lo and behold! — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is set to speak Thursday. Wow, what a coincidence!

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) tweeted Monday:

Today, the ATF showed up with 16 agents, most from out-of-state from cities like LA and San Francisco, to “inspect” Adventure Outdoors in Smyrna, GA.

This visit was unprecedented. The sheer amount of agents from the bluest parts of the country is unusual and unnecessary to conduct a routine audit.

This is a prime example of Joe Biden and the Democrats weaponizing federal agencies to silence and intimidate their political opponents. I fear this is just the beginning and they are directly targeting our Second Amendment and our right to protect and defend our families.

I’m proud to have joined my colleagues to do our job and conduct Congressional Oversight on this highly suspect “inspection.”

Wait, what? Is the ATF so short-staffed that it had to call in agents from Los Angeles and San Francisco to carry out a raid in rural Georgia? Or is the sinister authoritarianism implicit in this raid strongest on the Left Coast, and so it was easiest for the ATF to find agents who were willing to go along with this politicized charade in Pelosi SSR? Either way, Greene is very likely correct that “this is a prime example of Joe Biden and the Democrats weaponizing federal agencies to silence and intimidate their political opponents.” Or are we to believe that it’s a total coincidence that a gun store is the victim of an ATF raid just days before it hosts a singular champion of the Second Amendment and of patriots nationwide?

An even more disquieting “coincidence” unfolded at Matt Taibbi’s home. The Wall Street Journal editorial board, as Stephen Green notes, asked “when did the IRS start to dispatch agents for surprise house calls?” Good question. And how amazing that this very first IRS home visit should happen on the very same day that its target was away in Washington, talking to Congress about how federal agencies had been corrupted, politicized, and weaponized?

The IRS justified the home visit by claiming that there was a problem with Taibbi’s 2018 and 2021 returns, but millions of people have had similar minor problems without having IRS agents show up at their door. The Journal explains, “Typically when the IRS challenges some part of a tax return, it sends a dunning letter. Or it might seek more information from the taxpayer or tax preparer. If the IRS wants to audit a return, it schedules a meeting at the agent’s office. It doesn’t drop by unannounced.” Indeed.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has written to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about this strange IRS home visit, suggesting that it may have been “a thinly-veiled attempt to influence or intimidate a witness before Congress.” In light of the fact that IRS agents have never been known to visit people’s homes without warning, it’s hard to see how it could be anything but that.

Related: Biden Wants to Sic the IRS on Restaurant Servers

The IRS is already one of the most hated and feared of all federal agencies, and as Stephen Green notes, its weaponization began during the Obama administration, when the infamous Lois Lerner began persecuting conservative nonprofit organizations. Back in April 2017, then-House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady and then-Tax Policy Subcommittee Chairman Peter Roskam asked the Justice Department to reopen a probe into Lerner’s conduct. They wrote that the House Ways and Means Committee had “found that Ms. Lerner used her position to improperly influence IRS action against conservative organizations, denying these groups due process and protection rights under the law.” Nothing was done, of course, and now Lois Lerner’s friends and colleagues are back in power.

Today’s IRS and ATF agents make Lois Lerner look like an impartial, honest, trustworthy public servant. It’s clear that Biden’s handlers, having already turned the Justice Department into a tool of their agenda, have now corrupted the IRS and ATF in a similar way, and turned them against those who dare to resist the implementation of their socialist agenda. Is there anyone among our elected officials in Washington who has the will to stop all this?

Matt Gaetz Moves to Abolish the ATF

Matt Gaetz Moves to Abolish the ATF

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2023/01/gaetz-introduces-bill-abolish-atf/?ct=t(RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN)

BY BOB ADELMANN

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/rep-matt-gaetz-moves-to-abolish-the-atf/;

Republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, & research purposes.

To Representative Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the move last Friday by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) to require citizens owning pistol braces to register them with the government was the “final straw.” On Tuesday, he rolled out a bill to abolish the rogue agency altogether.

The bill is one page long: “A Bill to abolish the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.… The [agency] is hereby abolished.”

Would that this would be so simple!

In June 2021, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene proposed the same thing but gave the agency six months to move its responsibilities to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI). Her bill included:

  • Repealing all ATF regulations issued after August 1, 2020;
  • Rescinding all hiring authority for the agency;
  • Publishing a list of all the weapons it had confiscated, and then selling them to licensed firearms dealers via a public auction;
  • Putting those proceeds into a fund for Border Patrol agents killed in the line of duty as a result of one of its botched operations, Operation Fast and Furious; and
  • Using any remaining funds to fund grants to states to establish firearm safety programs.

In 2014 Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.) had offered a similar bill, but with some of its operations being handed off to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) rather than the FBI.

When Gaetz rolled out his bill to abolish the ATF, he said:

The continued existence of the ATF is increasingly unwarranted based on the actions they’re taking to convert otherwise law-abiding people into felons. My bill would abolish the ATF.

If that doesn’t work, we’re going to try defunding the ATF.

If that doesn’t work, we’re going to target the individual bureaucrats at the top of the ATF who have exceeded their authority in rulemaking. And if that doesn’t work, we’re going to take a meat cleaver to the statutes that the ATF believes broadly authorize their actions.

When Representative Greene presented her bill back in 2021, she said the Biden administration was using the agency to harass lawful gun owners:

Joe Biden and the radical, anti-gun Democrats want to unleash the ATF on law-abiding gun owners across America, attacking our God-given Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

The ATF’s ongoing, unconstitutional attacks on the Second Amendment must end.

And, when Representative Sensenbrenner proposed abolishing the ATF, he also minced no words:

The ATF is a largely duplicative, scandal-ridden agency that lacks a clear mission.…

It is plagued by backlogs, funding gaps, hiring challenges and a lack of leadership.

For decades it has been branded by high-profile failures. There is also significant overlap with other agencies.

While neither of these last two bills saw the light of day (as will likely be the outcome of Gaetz’s effort), the history of the ATF shows it to be corrupt to the core. Sam Jacobs, in an article published by the Libertarian Institute in 2020, took 19 pages to review just a few of the agency’s egregious and illegal operations.

They included:

  • A review of the agency by a Senate subcommittee back in the 1980s concluded: “Based upon these hearings, it is apparent that ATF enforcement tactics … are constitutionally, legally, and practically reprehensible”;
  • Its Siege at Ruby Ridge;
  • Its Siege at Waco, Texas;
  • Its expanded powers granted after 9/11;
  • Its harassment of gun-show buyers and sellers in Richmond, Virginia;
  • Its “baiting” of innocent Hmong refugees in Laos;
  • Its entrapment of mentally disabled teenagers;
  • What the agency actually does with all those Form 4473s gun buyers must complete purchasing a firearm;
  • What the agency does with its slush fund generated from its illegal sales of cigarettes; and
  • How it punishes whistleblowers inside the agency when they bring to light some of the agency’s illegal activities.

For readers who may be unfamiliar with some of these illegal overreaches, the source is here. Upon reading, they may agree with Gaetz, Greene, and Sensenbrenner: The time to abolish this rogue agency is long past due.

Related article:

Final ATF Rule Turns Pistols Into Rifles to Be Regulated Under National Firearms Act

Sarasota/Bradenton, Florida: Family-Owned Legacy Gun Shop Latest Casualty of Biden’s War on Guns

Family-Owned Legacy Gun Shop Latest Casualty of Biden’s War on Guns

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/08/family-owned-legacy-gun-shop-latest-casualty-of-bidens-war-on-guns/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Master gunsmith James Morrison founded JM Gun Repair 46 years ago, after doing gun repairs in his garage. The gun shop has been a local institution ever since, offering firearms, black powder and reloading gear, ammunition including hard-to-find calibers, and James’ incredible skills as a master gunsmith with 50 years of experience. The business is ideally located, straddling the county line between Sarasota and Bradenton, Florida.

“This has been a family legacy for 46 years,” said James’ grandson, Noah Morrison. His father and uncle work at the shop too.

Noah, who just turned 21, dreamed of becoming the third generation of Morrisons to operate this family business. However, his dreams were dashed when George Hancock, an ATF Industry Operations Investigator, known as an IOI, walked into the shop at around the same time Joe Biden announced his war on “rogue” gun dealers.

“During the audit, he found faults in our paperwork,” Noah said. “In the past, for these types of minor faults, an auditor would have just handed us a pen and told us to fix them.”

Noah’s father, Benwayne Morrison, agrees.

“These were clerical errors, but they changed the definition,” he said. “Under their new definition, they said our violations were willful. After 46 years, we never gave a gun to someone who shouldn’t have it, but that didn’t matter. None of the violations were on Biden’s ‘rogue’ gun dealer list.”

Rogue Defined

Biden first announced his zero-tolerance policy in June 2021. Part of his scheme included five criteria, which he claimed defined a rogue dealer:

  1. transferring a firearm to a prohibited person
  2. failing to run a required background check
  3. falsifying records, such as a firearms transaction form
  4. failing to respond to an ATF tracing request
  5. refusing to permit ATF to conduct an inspection in violation of the law

However, the ATF is revoking licenses for the most minor of errors – errors not on Biden’s five-point list.

As a result, a special report we published in May revealed that FFL revocations increased a staggering 500 percent.

No Due Process

Effective Aug. 23, JM Gun Repair can no longer transfer or sell firearms. The family intends to keep the shop open, selling ammunition, reloading and black powder supplies, gear, and other accessories, but not guns or even gunsmithing services. They posted a note on their website announcing the changes.

“Our family legacy is gone,” Benwayne said. “My father started this business. A master gunsmith is a rare breed. He can tell you the details about a gun made 100 years ago. He’s still sharp as a tack. Our family was screwed over by the ATF.”

The worst part for him and his family is that there was no way to appeal the ATF’s order.

There was no due process.

Benwayne contacted Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ office but was told since it was a federal matter, he should contact Florida Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott. Benwayne never received a response from Scott’s office. One of Rubio’s assistants told him to send more information, but he has not heard back.

Illegal Registry

Both Benwayne and Noah believe there is another unspoken reason why the ATF is revoking hundreds of FFLs. Anytime a gun shop closes or is ordered out of business, they must mail years of records to the ATF.

“They’re building a gun registry, and that’s illegal,” Benwayne said. “If you want to build a registry, the easiest way to do it is to have gun dealers supply their records. That’s the quickest way for them to find out who has what kind of guns. If they shut down a 46-year-old store that’s had thousands of sales, all of a sudden, they’ve got a lot of records.”

Neither Jason Medina, public information officer for ATF’s Tampa Field Division, nor Aaron Gerber, the Division’s Director of Industry Operations, returned calls seeking comment for this story.

Takeaways

It’s clear that the Biden-Harris administration believes if they eliminate all the gun dealers, they will eliminate all the guns. But since there is only a handful of real rogues out of the 50,000 licensed gun dealers doing business in the country, the administration had to devise another tactic. As a result, they came up with the “willful” scheme.

Now, even the most insignificant clerical error is a willful violation, which means the dealer is a rogue, and their license is quickly revoked. The ATF was happy to play along since they’ve always been more than willing to bend over for the White House, regardless of the constitutionality of the request.

The two hallmarks of the Morrison family business have always been safety and family. Benwayne used to train Boy Scouts. His father taught Hunter Safety classes. They educate every first-time gun buyer before they leave the shop.

“My parents could have retired years ago, but they wanted to keep the business going for their children and their grandchildren,” Benwayne said. “It’s frustrating to me that now my son Noah is old enough to be part of the family business, but he can’t. We’ve always been a law-abiding shop. We’ve done our best for nearly a half-century to educate the public and keep the public safe. So, if they can do this to us, they can do this to anybody.”

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

  

FBI raid on Mar-A-Lago backfires spectacularly as lawmakers call for NULLIFICATION of corrupt federal agencies like FBI, IRS, EPA, ATF, DOJ

 

Firearms Policy Coalition Statement on Steven Dettelbach’s Confirmation to Head ATF

BY F. RIEHL

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/07/fpc-statement-on-steven-dettelbachs-confirmation-atf;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Steven Dettelbach IMG By Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice Public Domain

ABOVE: Steven Dettelbach IMG By Lonnie Tague for the Department of Justice Public Domain

SEE OUR PREVIOUS POST: https://ratherexposethem.org/2022/04/07/biden-to-nominate-another-gun-grabber-to-lead-atf/

WASHINGTON, D.C. – -(AmmoLand.com)- Firearms Policy Coalition issued the following statement in response to the United States Senate’s confirmation of Steven Dettelbach as permanent director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF):

The Senate failed the People this week. The purpose of agency directors is to serve ministerial duties, not to subvert law and cheerlead the abrogation of our rights. By confirming an anti-rights zealot to helm one of the nation’s most infamous agencies, the Senate has all but promised that the ATF will continue, or even worsen, its violations of the trust of the People.

Steven Dettelbach–who aggressively promoted “universal background checks” and “assault weapon” bans–will serve as the first permanent ATF director since Byron Todd Jones, who stepped down in 2015.

ATF has a storied history of civil rights violations, arming cartels, and not to mention the commission of atrocities such as those at Waco, Texas. It cannot be understated how concerning it is that an anti-rights zealot will now be taking the helm of that agency.

With several members of the Senate absent due to varying health issues, Republicans had the power to avert Dettelbach’s confirmation. For reasons beyond our comprehension, two GOP Senators seemed to salivate at the opportunity to advance a hand-picked anti-rights activist, thus allowing him to narrowly gain confirmation in a 48-46 vote. By confirming Dettelbach, the Senate has once again failed the People in spectacular fashion.

The Senate Republicans who made Dettelbach’s confirmation possible are:

Sen. Susan Collins (ME) and Sen. Rob Portman (OH)

FPC remains vigilant against the weaponization of federal law enforcement against peaceable people. As this new chapter of the ATF begins under Dettelbach’s leadership, FPC will use all tools available to meet any infringement of individual rights with the appropriate corresponding response.


About Firearms Policy Coalition

Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org), a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, exists to create a world of maximal human liberty, defend constitutional rights, advance individual liberty, and restore freedom. FPC’s efforts are focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and adjacent issues including freedom of speech, due process, unlawful searches and seizures, separation of powers, asset forfeitures, privacy, encryption, and limited government. The FPC team are next-generation advocates working to achieve the Organization’s strategic objectives through litigation, research, scholarly publications, amicus briefing, legislative and regulatory action, grassroots activism, education, outreach, and other programs. FPC Law (FPCLaw.org) is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and the leader in the Second Amendment litigation and research space.

 

Firearms Policy Coalition

  

“Gun Control” Ahead: Biden Pick for ATF Part of Biden Admin Anti-gun Agenda

“Gun Control” Ahead: Biden Pick for ATF Part of Biden Admin Anti-gun Agenda

BY C. MITCHELL SHAW

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/gun-control-ahead-biden-pick-for-atf-part-of-biden-admin-anti-gun-agenda/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

As the Biden administration continues its leftward march, anti-gun measures not seen since the Clinton administration may be on the near horizon. In fact, Biden may pass Clinton in his anti-gun zeal. His new pick for head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) makes previous directors look gun-friendly by comparison. And Biden makes Clinton look the same.

Biden’s pick of Steve Dettelbach — a former Senate-confirmed U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio — comes after Senate Democrats refused to support the president’s previous nominee, David Chipman. So, Dettelbach comes in knowing he is Biden’s attempt at a consolation prize. But Dettelbach’s anti-gun agenda — in perfect accord with that of the man who chose him second — may be as much of a driving force for Dettelbach to face Senate confirmation as any sense of ambition.

Both Biden and Dettelbach seek to “solve” the “problem” of so-called ghost guns. And of course, they want to do so by the power of a national ban. But the focus on “ghost guns” is a ruse. Biden has a whole slew of guns in his sights and plans to ban them all.

So-called ghost guns are guns that are privately made and do not have a serial number. Despite the rhetoric from liberal politicians and media, such guns represent a minuscule number of firearms in the United States. And — again, contrary to the rhetoric — most of them are perfectly legal DIY projects made by citizens who purchased legal parts and manufactured other legal parts to put together a legal gun.

But those facts are irrelevant to the Biden administration. Biden — and his second pick for ATF — are determined to ban a slew of guns and are using the manufactured “problem” of “ghost guns” to get the camel’s nose inside the tent.

And Democrats have turned the volume on the rhetoric up to 11. For instance, on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urged speed in the banning of “ghost guns,” saying, “It’s high time for a ghost gun exorcism before the proliferation peaks and before more people get hurt — or worse.” Schumer’s speechwriter probably worked on that line for almost a minute.

But when the facts are not on one’s side and all one has is rhetoric, one runs wild with it. But “ghost guns” are just the false tip of the iceberg in Biden’s plans to ban guns.

As the Daily Mail reports:

The announcement coincides with the administration’s new crackdowns on ghost guns and regulations on firearms manufacturers and dealers.

“This final rule is part of the President’s comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy,” according to a fact sheet on the Justice Department action.

Biden has been on an anti-gun kick for years. As vice president, he pushed for “gun control,” and as president, he has only doubled down on that policy. In a speech on Monday, Biden announced his anti-gun policies while making it obvious to anyone who knows anything about guns that he knows nothing about guns.

As Daily Wire reported:

Democrat President Joe Biden renewed his push to ban semi-automatic long guns in a Monday speech that focused on what his administration is doing to crack down on Second Amendment rights.

“We need Congress to pass universal background checks, universal background checks, and I know it’s controversial but I got it done once, ban assault weapons and high capacity magazines,” Biden shouted.

And — building up a full head of steam — Biden continued, stating that people do not need “high-capacity magazines” since deer do not wear “Kevlar vests.” This writer would like to enlighten Biden and anyone else who thinks that a 15-round magazine in a pistol or a 30-round magazine in a rifle has anything in the world to do with Kevlar: They don’t. Kevlar is a material that can be used, among other things, to stop bullets. High-capacity magazines increase the number of shots one can fire without reloading. The tie-in is a comparison between apples and rubber bands.

But liberals often show their ignorance of the things they want to damn and ban — and this is especially true when it comes to guns.

But liberal ignorance in general (and Biden’s ignorance in specific) duly noted, the administration is working feverishly to ban certain guns and magazines. In a statement, the administration said:

This final rule bans the business of manufacturing the most accessible ghost guns, such as unserialized “buy build shoot” kits that individuals can buy online or at a store without a background check and can readily assemble into a working firearm in as little as 30 minutes with equipment they have at home. This rule clarifies that these kits qualify as “firearms” under the Gun Control Act, and that commercial manufacturers of such kits must therefore become licensed and include serial numbers on the kits’ frame or receiver, and commercial sellers of these kits must become federally licensed and run background checks prior to a sale — just like they have to do with other commercially-made firearms.

The final rule will also help turn some ghost guns already in circulation into serialized firearms. Through this rule, the Justice Department is requiring federally licensed dealers and gunsmiths taking any unserialized firearm into inventory to serialize that weapon. For example, if an individual builds a firearm at home and then sells it to a pawn broker or another federally licensed dealer, that dealer must put a serial number on the weapon before selling it to a customer. This requirement will apply regardless of how the firearm was made, meaning it includes ghost guns made from individual parts, kits, or by 3D-printers.

And tying Biden’s baseless anti-gun rhetoric directly to his nomination of Dettelbach, the statement said:

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is our top federal law enforcement agency responsible for enforcing our commonsense gun laws. Today, the President is nominating Steve Dettelbach to serve as Director of ATF.

Dettelbach — like Biden — has a history of ignorant anti-gun zeal. When he unsuccessfully ran for attorney general of Ohio in 2018, he called for reinstating the assault-weapons ban as well as implementing background checks on firearms purchases — both of which Biden is pushing for just as he names Dettelbach as his second choice to fill the head chair at the ATF.

And as Biden and Dettelbach push a false narrative about “ghost guns” to overinflate the sense of danger where guns are concerned, their sights are set wider. The statement from the administration ends by saying:

Congress needs to do its job by passing this budget and other essential legislation to reduce gun crime, including legislation to require background checks for all gun sales, ensure that no terrorist can buy a weapon in the United States, ban the sale and possession of unserialized firearms — ghost guns, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and repeal gun manufacturers’ protection from liability.

Since there is actually no such thing as an “assault weapon” (it is a made-up term), one needs to know what exactly is being banned. What Biden is pushing for Congress to ban are semi-automatic rifles with certain characteristics — such as pistol grips and the ability to accept magazines that hold more than 10 rounds. This describes a wide range of rifles that are owned by millions of Americans who have never used them in any crime.

Furthermore, repealing “gun manufacturers’ protection from liability” is a ridiculous proposal. Since guns are designed to shoot — and can be used for good or evil, depending on the person using them — allowing manufacturers to be sued for the use of guns is a travesty in the making. Can anyone imagine allowing automobile manufacturers to be sued for “car violence” — or other types of crime involving cars? Cars are used to commit bank robberies, art theft, burglaries, and a litany of other crimes. And since cars are used in drive-by shootings that also involve guns, lawyers could have a field day, suing everyone.

Biden to Nominate ANOTHER Gun Grabber to Lead ATF!?

Steve Dettelbach

ABOVE: Steve Dettelbach, a former federal attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. IMG: www.facebook.com/SteveDettelbach

BY F. RIEHL

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/04/biden-nominate-another-gun-grabber-lead-atf/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Washington, DC – -(Ammoland.com)-  According to POLITICO, Biden is planning to nominate Steve Dettelbach, ANOTHER anti-gunner, to be Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF).

Biden’s First Anti-Gun Nominee

Together, gun owners were able to defeat David Chipman, Biden’s last ATF Director Nominee.

David Chipman’s scandalous history included:

  • making millions of dollars lobbying against your constitutionally-protected rights for Michael Bloomberg and Gabby Giffords
  • working with Chinese state media to create anti-gun propaganda and downplay a massacre in China
  • and more!

But because of your activism and opposition, President Biden was forced to withdraw his nomination in September.

But now, recent reports indicate another gun-grabber may be nominated to lead ATF “as early as this month.”

Steve Dettelbach : Biden’s New Prospective ATF Nominee

Reports indicate that “[d]eliberations are ongoing but Steve Dettelbach, a former federal attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, is seriously being considered by the White House for the post.”

But Dettlebach is not simply a “former federal attorney.”

In 2018, Dettlebach unsuccessfully ran for public office, promising a host of new gun control initiatives if elected, including:

  • An Assault Weapons Ban
  • Universal Background Registration Checks
  • Gun confiscation for misdemeanor crimes
  • Gun confiscation for those dealing with mental health issues
  • “closing” the made-up “over the Internet” and fake “gun show loophole[s]”
  • Disarming teachers and keeping schools as “soft targets”

In fact, Dettlebach used his position as a US Attorney to advocate for gun control for years, publishing op-eds such as Requiring universal background checks make sense.

In fact, this US attorney heavily weighed in on the Manchin-Toomey gun control proposal in 2013, condemning “[t]he Senate’s failure… to pass the universal background check bill” as “disheartening.”

Key Question: Does Steve Dettelbach Support ATF’s Illegal Gun Registry?

In recent months, Gun Owners of America and Representative Michael Cloud uncovered that the ATF has been maintaining an illegal turn-key national gun registry with nearly a billion Firearm Transaction Records or Form 4473s in Martinsburg, West Virginia.

Indeed, federal law prohibits the centralization of ATF records, maintaining a registry of guns or gun owners, and keeping records that are searchable by name.

Interestingly, Steve Dettlebach acknowledged that this was illegal in a 2013 op-ed, stating:

“Some critics have argued that universal background checks will lead to a national gun registry. But establishing such a federal gun registry is and will remain illegal under the proposal. The existing background check system has been around for 14 years, and there’s no national registry of gun owners. Requiring a background check of gun buyers would not compromise the Second Amendment, which we respect” (emphasis added).

But as it turns out in 2005 and 2006, ATF illegally used congressional appropriations to begin converting out-of-business Firearm Transaction Records (Form 4473s) and Acquisition and Disposition Logs into a digital searchable database.

Dettlebach said that federal law prohibits the creation of a gun registry. What does he think should be done with the 920,664,765 records of guns, gun owners, and acquisition and disposition logs currently in ATF’s centralized database as of November 2021?

How the Grassroots Can Help

So, we know that Steve Dettlebach is a big-time gun control supporter.

And, support for infringements on our constitutionally-protected rights should disqualify anyone from every public office.

But, where does Dettlebach stand on maintaining ATF’s illegal national gun registry?

Will Steve Dettlebach enforce Biden’s proposed rule expanding ATF’s illegal gun registry?

Dettlebach must be held accountable for his opposition to the Bill of Rights should Biden formally nominate him in the coming weeks.

And ANYONE nominated to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives must commit to disbanding any gun or gun owner registry currently maintained by ATF.

In liberty,

Aidan Johnston
Director of Federal Affairs
Follow me on Twitter and on Instagram.


Gun Owners of America

Gun Owners of America has previously supported the right of members and staff to carry firearms on Capitol Hill for self-defense, as GOA supports the rights of all law-abiding citizens to carry firearms in their workplace. Gun Owners of America is a grassroots organization representing more than two million gun owners nationwide and is dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise.

Gun Owners of America GOA logo

 

Demand Congress Stop ATF’s Secret Rule Making

BY DAN WOS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/03/demand-congress-stop-atfs-secret-rule-making;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Washington, DC – -(Ammoland.com)- Over the past 2 years, the ATF has been speaking out of both sides of their mouths by cracking down on solvent traps while saying that the agency does NOT regulate the devices.

Recently AmmoLand News broke the story about a secret rule change involving 80% suppressors ahead of ATF’s official rule change deadline. These new rules were implemented without any public notifications or comment periods.

The new secret rule makes it almost impossible for anyone to make their own silencer. The ATF denied 850 out of 3000 law-abiding Americans the right to build their own suppressors by rejecting their Form 1 application.

Worse yet, the ATF sent the personal information of those applicants to local ATF field offices to be investigated for crimes!

The rest of the applicants were asked to provide high-resolution pictures to ATF before their Form 1 Application could be approved.

AmmoLand News then urged Congress to get involved in bringing the Biden admins’ out-of-control government bureaucracy under control. Now some members of Congress are stepping up to the plate.

A letter has now been sent to the ATF from the Senate. 20 Senators signed a letter to the ATF demanding the agency stop making rules in secret surrounding Form 1 suppressors & force reset triggers.

A 2nd letter is going out from Republican House Judiciary Committee Members Rep. Andy Biggs & Ranking Member Rep. Jim Jordan… to the ATF and DOJ telling them to stop abusing their power.

Several gun rights organizations have helped Congress draft the letters, including Gun Owners of America, the American Suppressor Association, and the Firearms Regulatory Accountability Coalition.

The American Suppressor Association is asking you to take action & demand Congress tell the ATF to abide by its previous determinations and not revoke any issued tax stamps.

The American Suppressor Association wants gun-owning Americans to let Congress know that the only way to fix the issue with these hearing-saving devices is to pass the Hearing Protection Act. The HPA would remove suppressors from the National Firearms Act. Find those action links in our in-depth article linked in the description below.

The gun grabbers want American gun laws to look more like the laws in the UK. Let’s give them this win…. Silencers are purchased over the counter in most parts of Europe. In fact, shooting without a suppressor in many European countries is considered rude.

Tell us what you think in the comments below and share this video with your friend & family to help support AmmoLand News, America’s oldest 2nd Amendment News outlet.


About Dan Wos, Author – Good Gun Bad Guy

Dan Wos is a nationally recognized 2nd Amendment advocate and Author of the “GOOD GUN BAD GUY” series. He speaks at events, is a contributing writer for many publications, and can be found on radio stations across the country. Dan has been a guest on the Sean Hannity Show, NRATV, and several others. Speaking on behalf of gun rights, Dan exposes the strategies of the anti-gun crowd and explains their mission to disarm law-abiding American gun owners.

Dan Wos
Dan Wos

Joe Biden Declares War on American Gun Dealers (FFLS)

Joe Biden Declares War on American Gun Dealers

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/03/joe-biden-declares-war-on-american-gun-dealers/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- While the world’s attention is focused on the horrific events unfolding in Eastern Europe, the Biden-Harris administration quietly unleashed hell on American gun dealers.

As the NRA first noted, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives has started revoking licenses of gun dealers for the most minor of paperwork errors – errors that never led to license revocations until Biden took office.

The move was intended to bolster Biden’s politically motivated stratagem, which he first announced on June 23, 2021, that “rogue” gun dealers are responsible for skyrocketing crime rates in large cities that historically have been controlled by Democrats. The “epidemic of gun violence” wasn’t caused by weak prosecutors who refuse to hold criminals accountable, or gangs or underfunded police departments or by any combination thereof, Biden claimed. It was all the fault of “rogue gun dealers.”

Back then, Biden said rogue dealers willfully transfer firearms to prohibited persons, fail to conduct background checks, falsify records, and/or refuse to cooperate with an ATF tracing request or inspection.

This week, The Biden-Harris administration added four more criteria to the rogue list – all minor paperwork errors: failure to account for firearms, failure to document a gun buyer’s eligibility, failure to maintain records needed to comply with an ATF tracing request, and failure to report multiple handgun sales.

FOIA the FOIA

To vet Biden’s rogue gun dealer theory, on the same day he made his “rogue” speech, the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project sent a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the ATF, seeking the following:

Copies of documents that show the number of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and their state of residence, who have been prosecuted for willfully transferring a firearm to a prohibited person over the past three years (from June 23, 2018 to June 23, 2021.)

Copies of documents that show the number of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs) and their state of residence, who have been prosecuted for ignoring and/or refusing to cooperate with a tracing request from the BATFE, over the past three years (from June 23, 2018 to June 23, 2021.)

(Note: We did not seek the names or other identifiers of any FFL.)

The FOIA request would prove or disprove Biden’s claims, which everyone, even the ATF, likely knew were false. If the rogue dealers were responsible for the increasing violence, there should be hundreds if not thousands of prosecutions and subsequent FFL revocations. If Biden’s claims were false, there would likely be a half-dozen prosecutions in the entire country.

Four months passed without a word from the ATF — not even an acknowledgment they had received the FOIA request. Then, in October, the ATF finally admitted it had received the request, but warned it might take even longer to process.

“For your information, this office assigns incoming requests to one of three tracks: simple, complex, or expedited. Each request is then handled on a first-in, first-out basis in relation to other requests in the same track. Simple requests usually receive a response in approximately one month, whereas complex requests necessarily take longer. At this time, your request has been assigned to the complex track,” the ATF letter states.

The letter also provided the names of two FOIA liaisons, Darryl Webb and Zina Kornegay. Months of calls and messages left for these alleged liaisons were not returned.

In February, after another four months had passed, Kornegay finally answered her phone.

“I’m seeing a bit of back-and-forth,” she said of the request. “Let me look into this further. I will try and find out what’s going on with this.” She refused to say when the ATF would actually respond to the FOIA request. “Let me speak to my team leader,” she said. “I do see your request, but there seems to be some back-and-forth about the best way to handle it.” Kornegay was clearly alarmed by something she read in the FOIA file. She promised to call in a few weeks but never did.

Now, nearly nine months after the original FOIA was filed, there has been no further communication from the ATF, so the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project sent ATF a second FOIA request – an attempt to find out more information about the kerfuffle our first FOIA request seemingly ignited.

Specifically, we requested copies of all internal ATF emails related to our first FOIA, as well as copies of all external emails the ATF received related to our initial request – for example, emails that may have come from the White House. We will publish any response we receive.

True Intent

The Biden-Harris Administration clearly wants to revoke as many FFLs as they can. Their goal is simple and transparent: Fewer gun dealers will result in fewer gun sales. Like most of their anti-gun schemes, they did not take into account that criminals don’t buy their firearms from licensed gun dealers, they steal them or buy them on the black market, so the administration’s plan will only infringe upon law-abiding firearm purchasers.

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

Under Cover of Darkness U.S. Senate Passes New Gun Control Laws

Gun Control iStock-847506336

BY JOHN CRUMP

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/03/under-cover-of-darkness-senate-passes-new-gun-control-laws/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

WASHINGTON, D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- Gun Control has been signed into law by President Biden with the support of turncoat Republicans.

In the middle of the night, the U.S. Senate passed the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA). Some gun rights groups raised alarm bells when this act passed the U.S. House of Representatives last year with Republican support. At the time, Republicans like Dan Crenshaw said that the anti-gun provisions of the bill would be removed and accused Gun Owners of America (GOA) of fearmongering to fundraise.

Democrats and Republicans led by Senator Jodi Ernst negotiated the bill’s anti-gun provisions.

Republican politicians, who previously vowed never to vote for the bill unless the anti-gun provisions were removed, voted yes with those anti-gun provisions fully intact. Prominently among those Republicans to betray the Second Amendment was Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith. Senator Hyde-Smith had previously released a statement to AmmoLand News that she would never vote for the bill in its anti-gun version.

An updated statement was given to AmmoLand News after receiving a tip that Senator Hyde-Smith was open to the bill with the anti-gun provisions intact.

The bill includes the NICS Denial Notification Act. This provision will require the criminal investigation of all National Instant Criminal Background Check System denials. The vast majority of NICS denials are false.

The bill’s passage means that thousands of law-abiding Americans will be subject to criminal investigation due to a mistake in a flawed government database. Guilty until proven innocent.

Empowering ATF

Another provision in the bill will allow the deputization of local law enforcement by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). This provision is a direct attack against states with Second Amendment Protection Acts (SAPA). Those bills prevent state and local law enforcement from enforcing federal gun control, but since VAWA allows for the deputization of local law enforcement, that means the federal government can restore the power of local police to enforce federal gun laws by making them agents of ATF.

The bill also includes funds for “gun violence” research. Federal research into gun violence has always been flawed in the past. Instead of using evidence-based science to come to a conclusion, the government has been caught using a predetermined result. The federal agency would decide on a conclusion they wanted first and work backward by using evidence to back up their opinion while ignoring evidence contradicting their stance. The practice was highlighted by whistleblower Dr. Miguel Faria whose testimony in front of Congress ended funding for gun violence research by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

While most gun rights groups have been fighting against the VAWA’s gun-control provisions, there have been rumblings that the NRA lobbyists told Senators that the powerful gun group was neutral on the bill giving those Senators the green light to vote for VAWA. This information was given to AmmoLand News by multiple Congressional staffers on the hill. AmmoLand News has been working to confirm or dispel the rumor with NRA-ILA but so far the NRA has yet to provide a clear statement.

AmmoLand News has reached out to the offices of the Republican Senators that voted for the bill for comment, but none of those Senators have responded to our request.


About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

 

ATF Reveals It Has an illegal National Gun Registry Already in Place

ATF Reveals It Has a National Gun Registry Already in Place

ABOVE: ATF headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Dan Ball W/ Erich Pratt, ATF Illegally Collects Gun Data, 2/1/22

BY BOB ADELMANN

SEE: https://thenewamerican.com/atf-reveals-it-has-a-national-gun-registry-already-in-place/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

When the Washington Free Beacon obtained documents last November revealing that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) had more than 54 million records of Americans who purchased firearms from local gun dealers, Representative Michael Cloud (R-Texas) and 51 other members of Congress demanded answers. In November he expressed his “concern”:

We are concerned that this Administration is leveraging its power in a way to establish a federal gun registry….

Congress has made it clear … that the federal government shall not create a federal gun registry and has prohibited ATF from creating any centralized databases.

He demanded answers to a number of questions, including just how many records ATF had, how many of them have been digitized using OCR or Optical Character Recognition technology, and specifically “how its Out-of-Business Records Center policy [of capturing all records from gun dealers who go out of business] does not violate the statutory restriction on a federal gun or gun owner registry?”

Cloud’s letter was signed by House members Thomas Massie, Pete Sessions, Ronny L. Jackson, Andy Biggs, Chip Roy, Jim Jordan, Lauren Boebert, Matt Gaetz, Burgess Owens, Louie Gohmert, and others.

Those members were stunned when Daniel Board, ATF’s assistant director, responded:

In total, ATF manages 920,664,765 OBR [Out of Business Records], as of November 2021 … 865,787,086 of those records are in digitized format.

Board then tried to explain that the ATF’s purposes in keeping such an immense database were benign:

The OBR [database does] not capture and store certain key information, such as firearms purchaser information in an automated file….

The ATF National Tracing Center … only traces crime guns … ATF is confident that it does not violate any laws.

Cloud didn’t buy it, telling the Free Beacon:

A federal firearm registry is explicitly banned by law. Yet, the Biden administration is again circumventing Congress and enabling the notably corrupt ATF to manage a database of nearly a billion gun transfer records.

Under the president’s watch, the ATF has increased surveillance of American gun owners at an abhorrent level. The Biden administration continues to empower criminals and foreign nationals while threatening the rights of law-abiding Americans.

John Crump, writing for Ammoland Inc., caught the lie about the OBR database only capturing “certain” limited information in its files, excluding purchaser information:

Although the ATF claims not to have the ability to search for specific character strings [such as purchaser names and related information], the fact they are using OCR means that it would only take mere minutes to enable [its] ability to search the documents.

The information-technology company Teris explains just how easy it is to turn paper documents into digital form that then can be searched using keywords such as “purchaser”:

OCR is the process of converting images and flat non-searchable documents into searchable text documents … so you can search for keywords….

OCR has a range of benefits, including:

Converting non-searchable documents into searchable text documents,

Quickly find relevant information: keywords, dates, phrases, and more, and

Convert paper files into a searchable digital repository.

So, the ATF already has nearly a billion searchable files on American gun owners, including name, address, phone number, and other information the agency requires on its Form 4473 a purchaser must complete before a gun may be purchased from a gun dealer.

This is the agency that Cloud describes as “notably corrupt” and about which Lee Williams, a researcher for The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project, notes:

There has never been a federal agency with so little regard for the sanctity of human life, with such a history of failure, with such antiquated duties and responsibilities, with such a propensity to overreact, with such an addiction to good press, with such a willingness to bend over for any politician in charge, and — as we currently see playing out — with such little regard for the constitutional rights of American citizens.

Readers seeking more information about ATF’s failures and atrocities in Ruby Ridge, Waco, the Branch Davidians, and Operation Fast and Furious, Crump’s review is available here.

The gun registry that gun owners have feared for years as the next step towards gun confiscation is now in place. Disarming the public is the final step in turning the American Republic into a dictatorship.

 

 

 

 

Getting Inside Your Head To Separate You From Your Guns & Ammo

BY ROGER KATZ

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2022/01/getting-inside-your-head-separate-you-from-guns-ammo;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

New York – -(AmmoLand.com)- Targeting the public’s emotions only goes so far in controlling the public. The goals of the Nation’s Spoilers are far more ambitious and frightening.

Neo-Marxist and Neoliberal Globalist Propagandists love to play with words and language, with syntax, semantics, and structure, and they are great manipulators of it. They cleverly craft an ever-expanding array of new words and expressions and subtly devise novel meanings for old ones.

  • Assault Weapons
  • Ghost Guns
  • PMFs – Personally Made Firearms
  • Gun Violence
  • Gun Culture..etc

They work hand-in-hand with specialists from diverse academic fields—neuropsychologists, sociologists, psychiatrists, linguists, and anthropologists—who dutifully, ruthlessly imprint, onto the psyche of the public, words, phrases, even nonsensical schizophrenic word salads.

The main focus of this psychological conditioning is to confuse, confound, and disrupt the American public’s sense of time, place, and memory.

The aim of the masters of brainwashing, on a nationwide scale, is to create in the mind of the American public an entirely new reality—a parallel world—one that is designed to slowly, inexorably replace the America that hearkens back to the dawning days of the Republic with one that draws the public into the embrace of a completely new political, social, economic, and cultural dynamic: a world-wide Collectivist organ, where the remains of the commonality are herded into special enclaves, dotted here and there around the world.

The lives of the common folk will be devoid of meaning or purpose. They will live shallow lives; their minds occupied with generic, vacuous dross, played incessantly to vacant minds attuned to video monitors, and filled with soporifics to make them quiet, submissive, pliant. As little need there will be for unskilled and semi-skilled slave labor, in this brave new world, of the Collectivist future, as technology will fill much of that gap once filled by manual labor, most human beings will become superfluous, reduced to living in an essentially vegetative state.

Compare that Marxist/Neo-liberal Globalist dystopian with the ideal of our present American Republic—that is, at best, but a vestige of its once greatness. The exemplars of America are unneeded commodities in the future world of neo-feudalism. In fact, in such a world as envisioned by the future Masters of the Earth, the exemplars of America are an outright liability.

In the past——

The Free Thinking Individualist Will NOT Comply

Nothing exemplified the American Spirit and Psyche more prominently, and emphatically than the notion of the indomitability, inviolability, and sacredness of the Human Soul. This sacred truth is itself inextricably tied to the sanctity of Selfhood. And the absolute sovereignty of the American people over Government serves as recognition of this fact.

And that sole and exclusive sovereignty over Government is only maintained through the sacred right of the American people to keep and bear dangerous and deadly arms against the tyranny of Government that attempts to corrupt and profane, one’s Self, and one’s Spirit, and one’s Soul.

These notions do not exist independently but are inextricably tied to and bound up in a deep-seated, deeply-entrenched eternal Christian ethic, that itself is grounded on moral Truths, lovingly placed into the Soul of man by a Benevolent, Beneficent, and Morally Perfect Divine Creator.

A free Constitutional Republic and the idea of a free, sovereign people, borne of these sacred, unshakeable, and immortal Truths—nourished by them and, having derived their strength, success, and greatness from them—cannot long survive without them.

In a free Constitutional Republic, there is an enduring need for a well-armed sovereign people. For it is only through a well-armed citizenry that a sovereign and free people can ever hope to effectively withstand the inevitable tendency of Government, and of the ruthless, insufferable Satanic forces in that Government, to destroy all that is Good, Right, and Proper.

The Moral Perfection of the Divine Creator as the well-spring of America’s Cultural Greatness, upon which the sovereignty of the American people and the inviolability and indomitability of the American spirit are firmly, indelibly impressed in mind and body and spirit and cannot be dislodged.

These Truths can only be buried in memory and replaced by false idols and that is what the Nation’s Spoilers seek to do. But that is not so easily accomplished—not in a Country established on natural law rights, as only this Country, of all other countries or unions of countries, is.

Thus, there exists—there has always existed—an enduring need for a dangerously -armed citizenry to withstand the inevitable tendency of Government and of ruthless, insufferable Satanic forces, intent on destroying all that is Good, and Right, and Proper in America and in the world.

The United States is truly the last bastion of hope both for the American people and, ultimately, for western civilization.

Will Not Comply Protesting Protestors iStock-Rawpixel-1125544034
iStock-Rawpixel

And, therein one finds the salient reason why the Neo-Marxist/Neoliberal Globalist forces both need and desire to destroy America and the indomitability of the American Soul and Spirit and Psyche.

A one-world government, embracing billions of people, cannot exist without firm military/police control over those billions of people. And, when one western Nation-State—the most powerful and noble one the world has ever seen—effectively resists subjugation, those subjugated peoples around the world take notice. Rebellions here and there arise around the world; fracturing the well-oiled, well-humming titanic machine.

The Neo-feudal Lords can have none of that. And that is why they are hard at work destroying every vestige of resistance: openly defying Constitution and Statute; seeding the Country with millions of ignorant, needy, malcontents, including outright terrorist killers, rapists, pedophiles, drug traffickers, and sex traffickers; draining our Nation’s resources, having no comprehension of or desire to learn of freedom and liberty and the responsibilities that come with American greatness.

And this is why the Deep State Lords, through their corrupt and obsequious toadies in Government, academia, the Press, in woke business, in liberal entertainment, and in big social media, are intent on undermining this Country at its root level.

One sees them:

  • Creating an entire religion and dogma out of victimhood
  • Deifying the State/Government and blaspheming the one true God;
  • Treating all manner of perversities and perversions as acceptable life choices;
  • Denigrating our most sacred Christian beliefs;
  • Emasculating our military;
  • Denigrating our Nation’s Founders and Military heroes;
  • Eradicating our History, Heritage, Culture, and Ethos;
  • Dismantling our Public and Private Institutions
  • Destroying the Doctrine of Federalism and the Doctrine of Checks and Balances among the Federal Government’s three Co-equal Branches that underpin our system of Governance;
  • Defying the Constitution and the Bill of Rights;
  • Inverting our core, sacred values;
  • Turning vices into virtues and virtues into vices;
  • Developing and implementing foreign and domestic policy from alien UN and EU doctrine that irreparably weakens our Nation and is wholly inconsistent and incompatible with our
  • Nation’s Constitution, statutes, jurisprudence, historical and cultural underpinnings;
  • Making a mockery of our Nation by installing into public Office, the most inept, incompetent, corrupt, depraved, and degenerate band of creatures to ever serve at one time in the Nation’s highest offices, thereby placing this Country and the world in the worst jeopardy of global thermonuclear annihilation since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962;
  • Turning our Nation into a massive Surveillance State, and turning our Nation’s peoples into a collection of shoo-flies: neighbor spying on neighbor; police spying unlawfully on people and associations of Americans; teachers spying on children; children even spying on their own parents;
  • Turning the massive power of Executive Branch police and intelligence apparatuses illegally on the American people;
  • Reducing Congressional Democrats into a willing and compliant tool of the Neo-Marxist/Neoliberal Globalist puppet-masters and Congressional Republicans into a passive, ineffectual, effete, and useless Governmental appendage;
  • Transforming many State and Local Governments into docile toadies of Neo-Marxist/Neoliberal Globalist puppet-masters
  • Treating American citizens as a perpetual subordinate, subservient underclass, while elevating millions of contemptible illegal alien pests, who have no respect for our Nation’s laws and who are free from Government mandates and who are a bane on Americans, as the new preferred overclass.

Millions of Americans who are asleep, better awake from their slumber, and they better do so quickly, before they drag down the rest of us. And those Americans who are alert, best stay vigilant and hold tight to their firearms & stockpiles of ammunition. Soon, it may be all they have to remind themselves that they once were sovereign rulers of their Land and that they still are the Nation’s sole, sovereign, rulers!


About The Arbalest Quarrel:

Arbalest Group created `The Arbalest Quarrel’ website for a special purpose. That purpose is to educate the American public about recent Federal and State firearms control legislation. No other website, to our knowledge, provides as deep an analysis or as thorough an analysis. Arbalest Group offers this information free.

For more information, visit: www.arbalestquarrel.com.

Arbalest Quarrel

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Abusing Her Position to Suspend 2A Rights

FLORIDA💥ALERT*~!NIKKI FRIED NOW ADMITS TO HEAVY DRUG USE(!)TOTAL DISQUALIFICATION FOR GOVERNOR(!)

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried On Her Medical Marijuana Card

"FOR A SLEEP DISORDER"?

"A Full Out Assault On Our Schools": Nikki Fried Slams DeSantis Over Defunding Districts 

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/11/florida-ag-comm-nikki-fried-abusing-her-position-to-suspend-concealed-carry-permits/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

ABOVE: Democrat Nikki Fried Official Photo

USA – -(AmmoLand.com)- In a one-of-a-kind system unknown in other states, Florida’s wildly popular Concealed Weapon or Firearm Licensing program is overseen by the state’s Commissioner of Agriculture, in this case Nikki Fried.

Florida’s licensing division, which to date has issued more than 2.4 million CWFLs, is subordinate to Fried’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. State lawmakers once flirted with the idea of taking the CWFL program away from Fried and transferring responsibility for the concealed-carry licenses to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, but, ultimately, the changes were never made.

Fried is the only Democrat to hold statewide office in the Gunshine State, where last week Republican voters finally outnumbered registered Democrats. She is also the only state official known to possess both a CWFL and a Florida Medical Marijuana Card, regardless of the federal legal problems this creates when she purchases a firearm.

Now, Fried is using access to confidential gun-owner data that her position offers, in her campaign for governor against incumbent Gov. Ron DeSantis, and Fried has shrugged off scrutiny about her actions as well as attempts to gain clarity and accountability.

On July 27, at approximately 1:07 p.m., Fried tweeted: “I just suspended the concealed weapons permits of 22 people involved in the insurrection against the United States of America instigated by Donald Trump on January 6, 2021.”

Anti-gunners lauded her decision and her tweet.

“Thank you for being a real American. Those folks do not need to carry weapons,” one replied.

Gun owners saw it differently.

“So, you’ve stripped them of a constitutional right before they’ve even been convicted? I can’t wait until DeSantis destroys you because someone who abuses their position for political reasons should be in jail,” one replied.

State law allows Fried to suspend the CWFLs of licenses who are charged with certain crimes – usually felonies or misdemeanors involving domestic violence, which would prohibit someone from purchasing a firearm – until the final disposition of the case. However, not every crime qualifies. Several of the Jan. 6 attendees were charged with misdemeanors that would not prohibit a firearm purchase.

Fried’s 22 suspensions raised the question of whether she was taking legal action as the state official in charge of the CWFL program, or whether she grandstanding as part of her gubernatorial campaign.

Jacksonville attorney Eric Friday is general counsel for Florida Carry, Inc., a non-profit, non-partisan, grassroots organization dedicated to advancing the fundamental civil right of all Floridians to keep and bear arms for self-defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I Section 8 of the Florida Constitution.

At the direction of the Florida Carry board of directors, on July 28 Friday, sent Fried’s office a public records request, seeking:

“1. All notices of suspension of license or notice of intent to suspend, or any other communication sent to the 22 individuals by Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, or the Department of Agriculture, Division of Licensing as set forth in the Tweet by Commissioner Fried; 2. All charging documents or other information relied upon to suspend the 22 licensees identified in Commissioner Fried’s Tweet; 3. All information received from any law enforcement agency, a court, or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement regarding the 22 licensees and the arrests or charges which form the basis for the suspension of the license; and 4. Any subsequent written verification regarding the 22 licensees received by the Department of Agriculture from any law enforcement agency, a court, or the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.”

To be clear, Friday did not ask for the names or other identifying information of the 22 licensees whose CWFLs were suspended: “Because the individually identifying information such as name and address of the 22 licensees is protected from disclosure by law, this information may be redacted from any documents responsive to this request,” his request states.

Fried ignored the public records request, which is a violation of state law.

Last month, Fried announced she suspended the CWFLs of six more Jan. 6 attendees, whom she called “domestic terrorists” and “traitors.”

“Today I’m announcing the suspension of six licenses of domestic terrorists who participated in the January 6 insurrection attempt against the United States,” she said in an Oct. 19 tweet. “That brings our total to 28 suspensions. As more charges are filed, we will continue to hold these traitors accountable.”

In a written statement, Fried said:

“The storming of the Capitol on January 6th where we witnessed acts of violence and domestic terrorism intended to undermine our democratic institutions shook our nation to its core – and its impact continues to be felt every day. The individuals involved must be held accountable for their treasonous actions. While Florida has the shameful distinction of being home to the largest proportion of individuals charged in relation to the insurrection, our department has been using its lawful authority and carrying out its legal duty to suspend the licenses of anyone charged with disqualifying offenses. When we announced the initial 22 suspensions earlier this summer, we made it clear that this would be an ongoing effort and that additional suspensions and revocations would be issued as additional charges were filed and sentences rendered. Since that time, FDACS has suspended six additional licenses of individuals related to the insurrection, and should further charges and sentences come down, we will enact further suspensions and revocations of licenses issued by our department as required by Florida statute.”

Two days later, Fried’s department officially acknowledged that they received Friday’s public records request, which was sent approximately three months prior.

Dear Requester,

 Thank you for contacting the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the department). Please consider this response as acknowledgement of the department’s receipt of your public records request. … You are encouraged to frequently check the GovQA portal for updates, clarification requests or cost estimates (if applicable). To search for updates to your submitted request, click on the “My Request Center” link and then click “Search by Reference Number”.

 Sincerely,

 Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Public Records

407 South Calhoun Street

Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800

Fried did not return calls, emails, or messages left with her staff seeking comment for this story. To date, her department has not supplied any of the documents sought in Florida Carry’s public records request.

In an email sent Tuesday in response to a request to interview Fried, Erin M. Moffet, Fried’s Director of Strategic Communications & Federal Affairs, wrote:

“It is the Department’s position that providing the specific license types would lead to the disclosure of personally identifying information, which is required to remain confidential. Pursuant to Section 790.0601, Florida Statutes, FDACS can neither confirm nor deny whether an individual has ever applied for or received a concealed weapon or firearm license, as this information is exempt from disclosure as a public record.”

Moffett never addressed the intent of the original email – the request to interview Fried.

Sean Caranna is Florida Carry’s executive director and co-founder.

Said Caranna: “The reason that the licensing program was transferred to the Department of Agriculture years ago was to make sure that there would be an elected official who could be held responsible by the voters for abusing, misusing and failing to properly administer Florida’s first-of-its-kind shall-issue licensing program. Nikki Fried has just provided an important example of why that decision is still well-founded. She has mismanaged the program, infringed upon the people’s right to keep and bear arms, denied licenses without providing proof or evidence that people are disqualified, and now she uses secret information that is supposed to be confidential for her own political gains.”

This story is presented by the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project and wouldn’t be possible without you. Please click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support more pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

ATF Fraud Finally Recognized by National Media

BY DAVID CODREA

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/atf-fraud-finally-recognized-by-national-media/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

If the whistleblower’s accusations are true, and if something is done about it, the abusive ATF employees will end up felons, like on this sign. (ATF/Facebook)

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “A CBS News investigation uncovered allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives,” CBS News claims in a breaking exclusive. “A whistleblower said he lost his job after he flagged the alleged violations to his superiors.”

The gist of it revolves around fraudulent pay practices, with certain employees reaping millions in unearned Law Enforcement Availability Pay (LEAP). The ironic thing is, the feds are prosecuting an Illinois police officer for fraudulent timekeeping because his department had received federal funds and he now faces up to 10 years in prison. That means some of these  “time bandits” could end up becoming “prohibited persons.”

It’s no surprise that anchor Norah O’Donnell’s takeaway is that ATF needs a permanent director, a not-so-subtle swipe at the rejection of gun-grab zealot David Chipman’s confirmation rejection.  While it’s true that widespread time reporting abuses point squarely at management either not doing its job or deliberately encouraging a culture of corruption, Chipman, as this column will show after walking through some past reports for background, is alleged to be part of the problem.

The very words “fraud, waste, and abuse” reflect the knowledge that it goes back to a time over a dozen years ago when whistleblower website CleanUpATF.org announced to the world:

“Managers, Counsel, Internal Affairs and staff of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (BATFE or “ATF”) have repeatedly given false testimony, concealed substantial waste, fraud and abuse, abused their lawful authority, and waged systematic campaigns of reprisal against their own employees that dare to speak out. This website is intended by members of the ATF community to promote restoration of integrity, accountability and responsibility to ATF’s leadership, and regain the trust of the American taxpayer.”

Working on a plan conceived by my colleague and partner in exposing ATF’s criminal Operation Fast and Furious “gun-walking” operations, the late Mike Vanderboegh, we created a campaign and contacted representatives, senators, and especially the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to call for hearings into the very serious allegations. If ATF agents were willing to put their careers on the line, the American people deserved to know if they were merely disgruntled employees trying to make trouble or if there was something to what they were complaining about.

As expected, in no small part because Mike and I were not “authorized journalists” with the commensurate reach to draw mass national attention, and mostly because the committee was controlled by Democrats at the time, deliberate indifference reigned, and nothing was done. Had it been, had corrupt management practices been seriously investigated, another revelation, a little over a year later, might not have been made and Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, ICE Agent Jaime Zapata, and untold hundreds of Mexican nationals killed with “walked” guns might still be alive.

This was the first ripple that caught our attention only because we were still regularly monitoring CleanUpATF:

“Word is that curious George Gillett the Phoenix ASAC stepped on it again. Allegedly he has approved more than 500 AR-15 type rifles from Tucson and Phoenix cases to be “walked” to Mexico. Appears that ATF may be one of the largest suppliers of assault rifles to the Mexican cartels! One of these rifles is rumored to have been linked to the recent killing of a Border Patrol Officer in Nogales, AZ. Can anyone confirm this information?”

This was the beginning of an intensive investigation into what turned into Fast and Furious. We established, and importantly, validated insider contacts, and reported on developments we were uncovering, all the while pleading with politicians and the media to not take our reporting for a fact, but to verify the truth for themselves. The main goal was to obtain whistleblower protection against retaliation from Congress, which soon proved to be the case. ATF’s Chief Counsel used my report to try and ID and then punish the initial CleanUpATF poster.  The Department of Justice leaked Privacy Act-protected documents to the press in an effort to discredit whistleblower John Dodson.  And further reports showed retaliation fears kept other agents from coming forward.

Initially, though, increasingly frustrated at the story being ignored, we put the by then Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee on public notice and let the newly Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee (and the NRA) know they were being reported to gun owners as AWOL and it was past time to start doing their damn job.

Two months and 156 reports after initially breaking the story, CBS News did its historic interview with whistleblower Dodson.  Vanderboegh and I, who worked with her on the front end, were both pleased with Sharyl Attkisson’s reporting and with the original and award-winning information she was able to uncover. We were less pleased with a CBS anchor claiming they broke the “Gunwalker” story.

So, history repeats itself, and once more CBS News is out there “leading” the establishment pack on ATF “fraud, waste, and abuse.” Except there’s another story no one wants to look into, and that brings us back to the Chipman allegations I referred to near the start of this piece, and again with history repeating itself, they have their genesis over at CleanUpATF:

“The problem is, that Chipman has been manipulating the Bureau-sponsored contractor to pad the Best Qualified List (BQL) with friends. The net effect is that the truly qualified people are not being considered for the positions. It has also been stated that Chipman has delivered HIS version of the BQLs for these contract positions, demanding his buddies be placed at the top of the list. Yep, fraud. That simple. Yep, the 5th floor knows.”

And history keeps right on repeating itself with another open letter to ranking Senate Judiciary Committee member Chuck Grassley asking for an investigation and to make that part of the confirmation hearings. History once more repeated itself when that entreaty was ignored by the politicians and the press.

Meanwhile, David Chipman is still out there being a leading voice for the Giffords disarmament effort (and still with a shot at being Biden’s “gun czar”)  and getting all the media attention he wants. Maybe a dozen years from now, someone will break the news of “fraud, waste, and abuse” claims by ATF insiders about him.

Here’s a fun fantasy: Wouldn’t it be a hoot if someday he ends up “prohibited”?


About David Codrea:

David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.

David Codrea

_______________________________________________________________________

ATF Whistleblower Exposes Rampant Fraud

ATF Employees Are Stealing Millions From You And Me!

Did ATF Just Get Caught Stealing Taxpayer Dollars?!?

New rule would greatly expand ATF power

Check out our video on the ATF's proposed rule 2021R-05, and how you can submit a comment to fight this impending infringement! The new rule greatly expands ATF power and treads over your right to keep and bear arms! Visit FightATF.com to submit a comment to the ATF!

Joe Biden’s Executive Orders On Gun Control: Expansion Of The ATF, End Of Homebuilt Firearms

BY JOHN CRUMP

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/10/atf-whistleblower-exposes-rampant-fraud/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

WASHINGTON D.C. -(Ammoland.com)- A Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) whistleblower exposed Bureau administrative employees fleecing the American taxpayers for possibly millions of dollars.

The whistleblower only identified as Joe told CBS that multiple employees filed for and received “LEAP” pay even though they did not qualify for the bonus scale. LEAP stands for “Law Enforcement Availability Pay.” It is meant for paying law enforcement officers for on-call hours where they are required to work long and odd hours. The pay is not meant for non-law enforcement employees of the ATF, and non-LEO is expressly prohibited from collecting the income. The ATF pays a rate of 25% over base pay. If an employee makes a base salary of $100,000, that officer could be paid $125,000 with LEAP pay.

“If you were functioning in an administrative capacity, you don’t qualify for the pay. So, you’re not supposed to get it,” Joe said. “A lot of people were getting it.”

In 2016, the whistleblower noticed the problem of administrative employees claiming LEAP pay shortly after taking a job as an information specialist in the ATF’s Human Resources department. Joe reported the violations to his supervisors. Instead of rewarding him for finding fraud, his employee review was downgraded from “fully successful” to “minimally successful.” Last summer, the ATF fired Joe for “unacceptable performance,” which he believes was retaliatory for his discoveries.

Last year, a lawyer for the Office of Special Counsel (OSC) claimed the agency found “a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing.” The OSC is an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose mission is to investigate whistleblower’s claims.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) performed an audit on ATF employees filing for and receiving LEAP pay. The audit turned up at least 94 employees that collected LEAP pay when they were not entitled to the money. OPM stated that the ATF engaged in “prohibited personnel practices.” OPM suspended the ATF’s ability to create specific jobs for “no less than six months.”

OPM did not state the fate of the ATF employees that defrauded American taxpayers out of taxpayer’s money. It is not known of any disciplinary action or if the employees were forced to pay back the money. The exact amount of funds incorrectly paid out to administrative employees is also not known. It is also not known for how long the fraud has been going on inside the Bureau.

A recent AmmoLand News story recently highlighted a leaked video conference call where Acting Director Marvin Richardson announced the ATF’s goal to double in size over the next five years. Many in the gun world worry that this goal, along with the mismanagement of current funds, could affect gun rights and waste money that could be used for things like clearing out the NFA backlog.

Some gun rights groups and government waste watchdogs see this uncovered fraud as yet another example of an out-of-control agency abusing its power and changing the rules as it sees fit. Many believe that the ATF works outside the law by changing definitions to meet its political goals and sees the firing of Joe as internal political payback.

The ATF did not respond to AmmoLand’s request for comments.


About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.

John Crump

BIDEN’S ATF NOMINEE David Chipman FAILS TO ADMIT HE Pushed US Gun Control On Communist China TV

GOP Senator Calls Out Chipman For CCP Propaganda

At today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) called out David Chipman, nominee to be Director of the ATF, for his appearance on Chinese state TV.

David Chipman Took Part in Communist, Chinese Propaganda to Push Gun Control 

Rumble — Erich Pratt on David Chipman's Chances to Lead the ATF

Leaked ATF Guidance: Private Gunmakers Are Criminals, Terrorists & Extremists

BY LEE WILLIAMS

SEE: https://www.ammoland.com/2021/06/atf-guidance-private-gunmakers-criminals-terrorists-extremists/;

republished below in full unedited for informational, educational & research purposes:

Leaked ATF Report: Private Gunmakers Are Criminals, Terrorists & Extremists

Washington, DC – -(AmmoLand.com)- If there is any federal agency that can be counted on to create a problem just to justify their own existence it is certainly the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

When it comes to overhyping the next “threat” to the homeland – regardless of the facts – the ATF seldom disappoints.

The embattled agency’s latest piece of creative fiction is a warning about “privately made firearms” or PMFs, and it should serve as a warning to gun owners, homebuilders, and everyone else who values their civil rights.

An ATF document titled “First Responder Awareness of Privately Made Firearms May Prevent Illicit Activities” was published last week by the Joint Counterterrorism Assessment Team (JCAT).

“JCAT is a collaboration by the NCTC, DHS, and FBI to improve information sharing among federal, state, local, tribal, territorial governments and private sector partners, in the interest of enhancing public safety,” the document states. “This product is NOT in response to a specific threat against the United States. It provides a general awareness of, considerations for, and additional resources related to terrorist tactics, techniques, and procedures, whether domestic or overseas.”

To be clear, the ATF and JCAT consider homebuilt firearms “terrorist tactics, techniques and procedures,” even though Americans have been making guns legally in their homes since before there even was a United States of America.

The document was never supposed to be leaked to the media or the public and is exempt from discovery through the federal Freedom of Information Act, but some freedom-loving soul published it online yesterday despite its ominous warning:

“WARNING: This document is UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY. Do not release to the public, the media, or other personnel who do not have a valid need to know without prior approval from NCTC, DHS, or the FBI. This document may contain US Person information deemed necessary for the intended recipient to understand, assess, or act on the information provided. Additionally, this document may contain information exempt from public release under the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552).”

“Criminals and violent extremists continue to seek ways to acquire firearms through the production of privately made firearms (PMFs),” ATF’s document warns. “PMF awareness and identification can aid

PMF recovery, prevention of illicit activities including terrorism, and overall first responder and public safety.”

Evidently, even the ATF was worried that their door-kickers might go too far, again – they can’t afford another Waco or Ruby Ridge – so they included a subtle warning before things get out of hand.

“NOTE: Many of the activities described herein may involve Constitutionally protected activities and may be insignificant on their own. Action should not be taken solely based on the exercise of Constitutionally protected rights.” Yep, those pesky Constitutional rights tend to get in the way.

Much of the advice the ATF passes on to First Responders would be laughable, were it not for the fact that Americans have a right to make firearms in their own homes. Apparently, that doesn’t matter. If you’re found with 3D printers, printing mediums such as plastic, ceramic, or metal spools, or place what the agency considers to be too large of an order online, you’re going to be suspected of terrorism or violent extremism even though your actions are perfectly legal.

I have written about the need to abolish the ATF before because no one seems capable of reining in the rogue agency or forcing them to accept the fact Americans actually do have constitutional rights.

This is more important now than ever before, because Biden’s nominee to head the ATF, David Chipman, is a paid anti-gun activist who would definitely take the agency in the opposite direction.

If Chipman is confirmed by the Senate, this leaked ATF report is just a warning of more serious civil rights violations yet to come.

The Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project wouldn’t be possible without you. Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to support pro-gun stories like this.


About Lee Williams

Lee Williams, who is also known as “The Gun Writer,” is the chief editor of the Second Amendment Foundation’s Investigative Journalism Project. Until recently, he was also an editor for a daily newspaper in Florida. Before becoming an editor, Lee was an investigative reporter at newspapers in three states and a U.S. Territory. Before becoming a journalist, he worked as a police officer. Before becoming a cop, Lee served in the Army. He’s earned more than a dozen national journalism awards as a reporter, and three medals of valor as a cop. Lee is an avid tactical shooter.

Lee Williams

 Subscribe 
1 2