Archive for the 'BATFE' Category

Epoch Times.

Having failed to pass gun bans to curtail Americans’ purchases of firearms, the Biden administration appears now to be attempting to restrict the supply of guns, with a new “zero tolerance” policy at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) that has put nearly 2,000 gun sellers out of business in the past two years, according to one lawsuit. 

Starting in 2021, the ATF implemented an aggressive agenda in its inspections of Federal Firearms Licensees (FFLs), in many cases permanently revoking licenses over what defendants say are minor clerical errors. 

“This is an end-around gun ban, because you start putting gun dealers out of business and now all of a sudden it’s very difficult for people to purchase firearms,” Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), told The Epoch Times. GOA filed a lawsuit on July 11 against the Biden administration in response to the ATF’s zero-tolerance enforcement.

The GOA lawsuit is requesting that the courts issue an injunction to end the ATF’s zero tolerance policies and “declare that the [ATF] has acted unconstitutionally, arbitrarily, capriciously, and contrary to law, in the establishment of and/or application of standards for revocation of federal firearm licenses.”

According to the ATF, the agency revoked 88 FFL licenses in 2022, compared to five that were revoked in 2021. 

But a recent GOA court filing states that, “in addition to revocations, ATF has coerced and intimidated an ever increasing number of FFLs into ‘voluntarily’ ceasing operations. In fact, the number of FFLs who discontinued business following a compliance inspection increased from 96 in 2020 to 789 in 2021 (the year that ‘zero tolerance’ was adopted) to 1,037 in 2022, an overall increase of more than 1,000%.”

Here is the GOA lawsuit.  Our buddy Stephen Stamboulieh is involved in this.  Godspeed to Stephen.

Here is a video of a home FFL in Texas trying to fight the power.

Look folks, it doesn’t matter if you’re a manufacturer, distributor, store-front FFL or home FFL.  Certain things must be done to stay in business.  You must be error-free.  You must engage in the tools for reduction of human errors, STAR (stop, think, act and review), independent verification, self-check, etc., etc.  You cannot mark down the wrong serial number on a Form 4473.  This is the case not because it’s the moral or right thing to do.  I consider the entire schema of firearm serialization to be unconstitutional and immoral. Furthermore, those who enforce this unconstitutional and immoral practice are communists.

You must do it to stay in business.  Obtain help.  Hire another worker to check behind you.  Make it the sole responsibility of one of the workers to check the forms.  This is your livelihood.

By the way, the error rates from lowest to highest in industries is as follows. (1) Commercial Nuclear Power where tens of thousands of manipulations are performed each day, from opening or closing valves, turning pumps on or off, venting systems, calibrating transmitters, and so on, (2) The Airline Industry (whose error rate is higher than nuclear power, but still relatively low considering all of the flights and equipment manipulations every day), (3) the Pharmaceutical Industry (whose error rate is very high according to an executive with whom I talked), and finally, (4) The Medical Profession.  A Major Study by Harvard and Johns Hopkins found that over 800,000 Americans are killed/seriously injured every year due to medical errors and misdiagnoses.

But they want to shut down the FFLs.  You must be better than them.

You know what will be done about this illegality?

That’s right.  Nothing.

Source.

At summary judgment, the district court found that the two challenged provisions in the Rule exceeded the statutory jurisdiction and authority of the ATF and vacated the entire Rule per the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(C). The district court rejected a stay pending appeal but granted a seven-day administrative stay to allow the ATF to bring an emergency appeal.

Because the ATF has not demonstrated a strong likelihood of success on the merits, nor irreparable harm in the absence of a stay, we DENY the government’s request to stay the vacatur of the two challenged portions of the Rule. “[V]acatur . . . reestablish[es] the status quo ante,” Defense Distributed v. Platkin, 55 F.4th 486, 491 (5th Cir. 2022), which is the world before the Rule became effective. This effectively maintains, pending appeal, the status quo that existed for 54 years from 1968 to 2022.

The ATF is likely correct, however, that the vacatur was overbroad. The district court analyzed the legality of only two of the numerous provisions of the Rule, which contains an explicit severability clause. See 87 Fed. Reg. at 24730. Where a court holds specific portions of a rule unlawful, severance is preferred when doing so “will not impair the function of the [rule] as a whole, and there is no indication that the regulation would not have been passed but for its inclusion.” K Mart Corp. v. Cartier, Inc., 486 U.S. 281, 294 (1988); see also Sw. Elec. Power Co. v. EPA, 920 F.3d 999, 1033 (5th Cir. 2019) (vacating only challenged portions of a rule). Because the agency has shown a strong likelihood of success on its assertion that the vacatur of the several non-challenged parts of the Rule was overbroad, we STAY the vacatur, pending appeal, as to the non-challenged provisions.

We sua sponte EXPEDITE the appeal to the next available oral argument calendar. To allow time for additional proceedings as appropriate, this order is administratively STAYED for 10 days.

I’m not sure what all of this means, but according to the decision, throwing out the entirety of the new frame and receiver rule would have vacated several non-challenged provisions.

It’s good to see, however, that the Fifth Circuit doesn’t believe the ATF can win on the challenged provisions of the new rule.

When light is darkness and darkness is light.  And when your only goal is to illegally harass gun and ammo stores because you’re a communist.

Liberty Doll has the details along with some commentary.

Here is also a writeup of what happened.  What you heard about the SWAT team berating the man, a pastor, husband and teacher, a normal man by any account, is exactly what these people are like.  These people are not the exception, a few bad apples in an otherwise good bushel of apples.  No, they are all bad.  They want to violate your constitutional rights.  They live for it.  They are sociopathic criminals.

Imagine being employed by the ATF and being able to look at your wife and children when you get home and look yourself in the mirror at night and be able to fall asleep with no trouble.  Imagine having your conscience hardened and soul seared with hot coals to the degree these people have.  I hope this fate doesn’t befall anyone reading this.

As for ATF Special Agent Theodore Mongell sending several SWAT teams to knock on someone’s door, I know little girls with more courage than that.

ATF to federal court: “Hey, we don’t really like all that stuff in NYSRPA v. Bruen about no tiers of scrutiny and not letting us do interest balancing, so we want you to tell the supreme court they’re wrong.”

Imagine being employed by the ATF and being able to look at your wife and children when you get home and look yourself in the mirror at night and be able to fall asleep with no trouble.  Imagine having your conscience hardened and soul seared with hot coals to the degree these people have.  I hope this fate doesn’t befall anyone reading this.

Tennessee Republican Fudd Explains:

The basics

Many are familiar with basic weapons handguns, rifles, shotguns, and machine guns.

Gill (Bo Gill, chair of the Bedford County [TN] Republican Party and a self-described “amateur gunsmith,”) said firearms are broadly categorized into two main types: automatic and semi-automatic. The difference lies in their firing mechanisms, which significantly impact their functionality and practical applications.

Semi-automatic firearms are designed to fire one round with each pull of the trigger. After firing, the expended cartridge is ejected, and a fresh round is automatically loaded into the firing chamber for the next shot. Unlike automatic firearms, the trigger must be released and pulled again to fire subsequent rounds.

For reference, the transgender shooter at The Covenant School used a semi-automatic, which is the most common type used for recent mass shootings.

“Any semi-automatic firearm cannot be readily converted into an automatic firearm,” though bump stocks, which the 2016 Las Vegas shooter used, can mimic an automatic.

Automatic firearms, commonly known as machine guns, are capable of firing rounds continuously as long as the trigger remains depressed. These firearms use the energy from each fired round to automatically load and fire subsequent rounds without the need for additional manual manipulation.

Often automatic weapons are $10,000 and up and not readily available in gun stores but are available online.

You know it’s coming, or it wouldn’t be a “news” article. Ah, yes, the, however!

However, like some gun owners, Gill agrees, “I don’t think automatic firearms have a place anywhere but war. They’re not practical and they’re a waste of ammo.”

It’s a Bill of Limited Ammo Use. What he’s saying is that the government should have a sole monopoly on force. He’s for self-defense and “sporting,” which is a totally made-up word. But he misses the purpose of the Second Amendment if he thinks the government is the only acceptable entity to make war. That’s scary to the modern weak, prissy Western man of which America has an epidemic.

There is also much discussion around “military-style” weapons.

Gill explains, “Visual resemblances do not necessarily indicate an increase in functionality or lethality beyond that of other semi-automatic firearms.”

Military-style firearms, also referred to as “assault weapons,” feature certain cosmetic characteristics that resemble firearms used by military or law enforcement agencies. These features can include folding or collapsible stocks, pistol grips, flash suppressors, and detachable magazines, among others.

The article indicates those are not “genuine” firearms. Only Fudd purposes are genuine.

Then there are genuine firearms that come in a multitude of designs and models, serving various purposes such as self-defense, sport shooting, hunting, and collecting.

Gill explained, in an opinion letter he wrote in 2020, that, “It is important to evaluate the firearm’s functional characteristics rather than solely relying on its appearance to determine its intended purpose or danger level.

He said, “The main thing is the guns are not the issue. It’s the intent, the person that does it.”

The intent of a person, in Western Jurisprudence, is determined solely by courts of law in a trial by jury. Red Flag laws are a usurpation of the right to a fair trial. You can’t possibly know the intent of somebody or their mental condition. You could, however, stop giving psychotropic mind and mood-altering chemicals falsely labeled as medicine (which they are not) to people.

“Now the ease of mentally ill getting a gun, it could be tightened.” Gill added, “I think private sales is something that could be done more responsibility.”

Who get’s to define mentally ill? What is the definition?

He explained those purchasing firearms in private sales are asked for the receipt, name, and number. This information is then run through the sheriff’s office.

If you’re in Tennessee you should check to make sure, but I don’t think that’s the law. You need to verify TN state residency with a Driver’s License.

“That is what a law-abiding citizen should do,” said Gill. “But, see, that’s not going to happen with ‘no guns allowed.’ All the responsible gun owners are going to put their guns back and that’s going to create soft targets.”

Often, places that do not allow for guns on the premises, such as schools, some churches, and movie theatres, are the targets of mass shootings.

“I don’t think the solution is taking away guns. It’s a societal issue that independent families have to fix,” said Gill.

Disarmed men create soft targets. There’s more at the link. Anyway, what’s the rule? Never talk to the press! The guy probably feels bad. I’m certain they mischaracterized some of what he said, but some are quoted. He’s a Fudd.

FPC.

FORT WORTH, TX (June 30, 2023) – Today, Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and FPC Action Foundation (FPCAF) announced that a federal judge has granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs in VanDerStok v. Garland, vacating the ATF’s “frame or receiver” rule and preventing the federal government from enforcing it. The opinion can be viewed at FPCLegal.org.

“This case presents the question of whether the federal government may lawfully regulate partially manufactured firearm components, related firearm products, and other tools and materials in keeping with the Gun Control Act of 1968,” wrote Federal District Court Judge Reed O’Connor in his Order. “Because the Court concludes that the government cannot regulate those items without violating federal law, the Court holds that the government’s recently enacted Final Rule… is unlawful agency action taken in excess of the ATF’s statutory jurisdiction. On this basis, the Court vacates the Final Rule.”

“We’re thrilled to see the Court agree that ATF’s Frame or Receiver Rule exceeds the agency’s congressionally limited authority,” said Cody J. Wisniewski, FPCAF’s Senior Attorney for Constitutional Litigation and FPC’s counsel in this case. “With this decision, the Court has properly struck down ATF’s Rule and ensured that it cannot enforce that which it never had the authority to publish in the first place.”

“This is a monumental victory against the tyrannical ATF. Firearms Policy Coalition and FPC Law have argued that this rogue agency has unlawfully attacked gun owners in this latest round of ‘rulemaking’ and we are grateful to see the Court agree,” said Richard Thomson, FPC’s Vice President of Communications. “We will not stop, however, with this latest victory. FPC and FPC Law will continue to bring these cases to put a stop to the immoral and unconstitutional actions of the disarmament regime.”

Winning is fun!

I don’t think it should be hard at all – just be honest, tell the truth, and be true to your oath.  Be prepared to find another job if you need to.  It’s better to bag groceries or load trucks at Lowe’s than to answer to God for malfeasance.  But here is his story.

It was 2007 and I was assisting a call with an officer I’d never met before. He was from another team working overtime. Right in front of me he broke a kids nose with a punch. The septum was clearly deviated and blood was everywhere. The kid was handcuffed and the officer enquired of me “what should ‘we’ arrest him for?” “What did he do?” I enquired. “He called me a name.” he said. After 20 mins of him trying to persuade me we should fabricate a crime he had to let the kid go. “We need o do notes, get our story straight” he then told me. I don’t need assistance in writing what happened. I found a quiet place and wrote the facts. As I wrote I was joined by a female A/Sgt who knew this officer. She spent 20 mins trying to convince me this kid was a “shitbag” & my notes should ‘reflect the danger he posed’. I was disgusted. We don’t behave this way.

Read the rest of the thread here.

Oh, but you do indeed behave that way.  This is a Canadian cop and he has all the proof in court documents, but it’s the same in the U.S.

As for all of those “constitutional Sheriffs and Deputies,” it’s important to know where they really stand.  Here is a good analysis of what likely really happened at that gun store in Montana.

Guess what?  The Great Falls, Montana, PD provided perimeter security for the IRS and ATF [5:48 in the video].

There you have it.  Even in Montana, the cops have been corrupted.  The Great Falls PD should have arrested the IRS and ATF agents when they showed up in the city limits.