They’ve stated: licensed manufacturers who perform a manufacturing process on the firearms for, or on behalf of, another licensed manufacturer not to place their serial numbers and other required identification markings on the firearms, provided such firearms have already been marked as required and that all of the other requirements
Ruling here.
A judge found the actions of federal agents who refused to show Zanesville residents a warrant when asked are “completely unreasonable and unjustified.”
…
At the suppression hearing in July, Marbley made it clear to agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bosley, that he was unhappy with the way agents handled the search June 18 at the Thompson home on Kopchak Road.
…
Marian Thompson said even though she repeatedly asked for a warrant, none was ever supplied.
Marbley stated in his ruling that “one of the purposes served by the warrant requirement is informing citizens that the executing agents are acting under proper authorization when they invade the sanctity of a citizen’s home.”
ATF devoting significant resources trying to solve the problem of toilet vandalism.
It’s a recurring theme here but Prince Law Offices says they found the smoking gun:
Of particular interest, on this one heavily redacted “Firearms Inspection Worknote”, at least two of the firearms were in the dealers inventory, but “not listed on the inventory list provided by the NFA branch.” In the second box, the agent apparently wrote in, “F4 [likely meaning Form 4] apvd [likely meaning approved] 8/7/01.” Thus, in all likelihood, the agent was presented with the approved Form 4 while doing the audit, even though the NFRTR either showed the suppressor as non-existent or registered to another person.
When 81-year-old Carl Craig walked into Madison Guns & Ammo on Tuesday, he didn’t know that the gun he was carrying was an illegal weapon.
Craig had a Stevens .410 gauge pistol, made sometime in the late 1920s or early ’30s.
“The reason it is illegal is that it’s a handgun that fires a shotgun shell,” said David Hyche, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives resident agent in Huntsville and Birmingham.
ATF worked with the guy to let him keep his gun. And that required the gun being disassembled. This has happened a few times recently and hats off for that.
However, doesn’t keeping it disassembled open the owner up to issues like constructive possession?
Looks like ATF may be looking into the dealers involved in the gun show bit done by NYC. Pretty clear some of the dealers were breaking the law. Last time Bloomy did this, ATF looked into it and told Bloomberg to knock it off because it compromised some investigations.
Covered the case before. Now, I see that they are having a sale to raise money for legal fees. And, in what seems to be a trend illustrated also by CavArms, no charges have ever been filed. KT’s website is here.
Local ATF Agent Arrested Again. At least there was no stand off this time. Looks like a conviction could lead to him losing his gun rights, since his first arrest is from a domestic violence incident.
Mentioned a bit back the ATF’s NFA Handbook said pin and weld was not an acceptable method of applying devices that extend barrel length, thereby making thousands of people law-breakers. Well, the ATF has since recanted. Apparently, NRA read it on the blogs and went to the ATF about the issue. Cool.
it was an NFA prosecution, where the defense launched a HARD attack on the messed up nature of the government’s NFA firearm files, including calling a very well qualified expert to testify to the unreliability of files with such flaws.
Not the first time we’ve heard of problems with the NFRTR.
Ry on the NFA handbook changes:
The April 2009 edition of the NFA Handbook has removed pin & weld from the methods that are allowed to extend barrels to the minimum (16″ rifle, 18″ shotgun) length to avoid paying an SBR/SBS tax.
What happens to the millions of barrels out there that were pinned and welded?
All the people who own M4 length barrels with pinned and welded 1.5 inch flash suppressors should be concerned.
Agent expected to testify they got a warrant illegally. Via David, who sums it up: Vince Cefalu, an ATF supervisor, and lead supervisor on the case, has testified that investigators perjured themselves to get a wiretap order, and that when he objected to this, he was taken off the case.
One of the internet gun boards says a suppressor manufacturer has been told by ATF that they can no longer sell mounts unless they are sold with a suppressor. Not sure if it’s true as I haven’t confirmed it. But, if it is, that would mean you can only have one mount per can so you couldn’t have multiple mounts for convenience.
Mentioned last week that ATF issued a letter that, unsurprisingly, said the TN Firearms Freedom Act was no good. They’ve issued a similar letter to Montana, the first state to pass such a law.
ATF issues guidelines on receiver sales. Interesting. I’ve bought a few AR lower receivers and the dealer usually marks them as rifles. I thought that odd and wondered the ramifications if I made one into a pistol. I think the new 4473 actually has a box for receiver now.
It’s unlawful to maintain a list of gun owners. But some links here indicate that ATF is dutifully data mining firearms data.
From Congressman Zack Space:
Citing the vital need to protect Americans from overzealous federal agents, Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) today issued a challenge to those Members of Congress who supported his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) reform legislation, but have yet to sign on this Congress.
“This legislation is far too important to languish due to cold feet,” Space said. “Well-intentioned, law-abiding citizens are being unfairly targeted by federal agents who should be more concerned about the Second Amendment than their next promotion.”
Man finds an heirloom that is short-barreled. Sends it to ATF for determination. ATF classifies it as a C&R firearm, making its possession lawful. See letter here.
Good. And not the first time either.
I’d heard various talk of this on various gun boards and such but didn’t put much into it. Now, NRA is reporting:
NRA-ILA has recently received several calls from NRA members in border states who have been visited or called by agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. In some cases, agents have asked to enter these people’s homes, and requested serial numbers of all firearms the members possess.
In each case, the agents were making inquiries based on the number of firearms these NRA members had recently bought, and in some cases the agents said they were asking because the members had bought types of guns that are frequently recovered in Mexico.
Looks like they’re chasing down folks through ATF Form 3310.4. NRA’s ILA is asking you to call them if you are contact in such a way.
Via Redneckin, comes word of a man whose vintage airplane was confiscated for failing to fill out ATF forms.
I mentioned it sold at auction. Tam notes that it appears to be a firearm and hopes the buyer/seller dotted all their I’s and crossed their T’s.
Kurt Hofmann looks at what the ATF does instead of something.
Report on a forum of ATF agents interviewing people who have bought more than five guns. Seems they’re trying to find out how these guns are getting into Mexico. If true, they’re using that gun registry we don’t have.
NRA reports BATFE Reform Bill Introduced In U.S. Senate. Highlights:
This bipartisan reform legislation is the culmination of efforts to address BATFE abuses and problems that were highlighted in several congressional oversight hearings in 2006. (To read more about these hearings, please click here.) S. 941 represents NRA-ILA’s latest efforts to pass legislation that will make it easier for lawful gun owners and dealers to comply with federal law and regulations, while ensuring that those who break the law are punished accordingly. This bipartisan bill also serves as a vital step toward modernizing and improving BATFE’s overall operations. The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena, and is a vital step needed to modernize and improve BATFE operations.
A fact sheet can be found here.
Also interesting:
I just noticed that Patrick Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, was a sponsor of the bill. He’s not exactly Mr. NRA, with a D rating last time he ran for Senate. What’s up with that?
ATF broke up an operation smuggling guns into Mexico. They were coming from California gangs.
We here at SayUncle tend to be a bit hard on the ATF. However, they occasionally do something cool. Recently, on Antiques Roadshow, someone inherited a pretty rare 1913 Winchester. Trouble is that the rifle had a 14 inch barrel, thus making it an unregistered short-barreled rifle and a contraband NFA item. But ATF was cool about it:
GUEST: Once my father passed, I knew that the rifle was short and I, like I said before, I had talked to the gentleman in Cody, Wyoming, and he said the best thing to do is be up front with the ATF and call them. And that’s where we went from there.
APPRAISER: That is the best course of action, is whenever somebody feels that they have a firearm which may be illegal, they should contact the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. What you do have here is you have a Winchester model 1892, manufactured in 1913, and these are extremely rare. All of these were made on custom order from Winchester. They were very popular with bank guards and express companies. Many of them found their way into Central and South America. They made other custom orders, like 15-, 16- and 18-inch barrels. Now, the good thing about those people that have the 16 and 18 inches is they’re not against the law. But what you’ve done here is you’ve contacted the ATF and they basically removed the firearm from the restricted list and added this specific firearm to the Curio & Relics list, which, in essence, helps you sell it in the future if you chose to do that. The 14-inch is probably the rarest out of all those firearms. There are probably only about a hundred of these…
That transferred to the C&R list to make it lawful. Excellent. A pity to have had that rifle destroyed.
Some reform advocated from inside the agency. Via David who reminds us that:
I’ve griped about the agency as much as anyone, but the bottom line is there are folks with it who are decent, and folks who are not, and the problem is that the folks who are not get promoted, get into power, and are in positions to shaft those who are decent.
I think we often forget that a lot of ATF agents are gunnies too.
In an extremely disconcerting scenario, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has approved an application to transfer an NFA firearm, while acknowledging that the trust was not valid.
ATF approved the trust and noted it was not valid. This could, of course, lead to ATF initiating forfeiture proceedings.
David reminds us of ATF’s policy of institutional level lying with respect to data in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.
Another good guy at ATF? Not unheard of. Those guys tend to be gunnies themselves. But they get of, err, shall we say enthusiastic training.
Before, I’ve noted ATF attempting to regulate model rocketry. Looks like the evil rocketry association must be stepping in since ATF just had their wrists slapped.
The NYT dutifully parrots the Mexican gun canard. It’s dogma.
Also, our old friend ATF Special Agent Thomas G. Mangan is showing up again. It’s like there is this concerted effort at disinformation. Mangan stuff here and here.
Reports (with pics) from an arfcommer who states an ATF agent who stayed at the hotel he works at left his gun under the pillow. Ooops. I would have replied with either I Always Think Forfeiture or I’ll give it back when CavArms gets their stuff back.
SOF alleges corruption from ATF agents deployed to Iraq. In other news, ATF agents were deployed to Iraq?
The ATF arrested an Upper Receiver. Yes, ATF was ordered to arrest a gun part.
Interesting how ATF concludes it is readily convertible:
[A]ll it took was some metal, a length of chain, some duct tape and some plastic wire ties for the federal inspectors to make his gun part operate in that fashion [full auto - ed], he said he was told.
Wow, first shoestrings. Now chain, tape and wire ties. ZOMG. I have all that in my house. Clearly, that indicates constructive possession.
Update: Back story from David Hardy: BATFE originally ruled that the item was not a firearm, let alone an NFA one; it was a conversion kit. After Len gave some expert testimony in several cases against the agency, it reversed its ruling and held that the kit was an NFA firearm.
The CAV-15 MKII receivers are back in production, after receiving approval from BATF Technology Branch for the method of affixing the serial number plate to the lower. We are currently filling back orders for our dealers and OEM clients. We will begin taking retail orders when all dealer back orders are filled. Please check with our dealers to see if they have in stock what you need.
Glad they’re back in business on lowers. But:
We are currently not selling complete lowers, or complete rifles. Our vendors for these parts have substantial back orders. We currently have no ETA for these parts. If you are concerned about impending legislation, buy a lower receiver now and assemble it into a complete rifle when the supply chain stabilizes.
Mike Sullivan has resigned as head of the ATF. Good. But before getting too excited, bear in mind who will be appointing his successor.
ATF issues a press release noting that the inventory of Form 4473 (the NICS check form you fill out every time you buy a firearm from an FFL dealer) is running low due to “unprecedented demand.” They’ve even said it’s OK to make photocopies since demand is so high.
Past info on gun sales here.
Update: Tam has more.
Indeed: The demonization of ordinary firearms for the next “assault weapon” ban is picking up steam with the help of the ATF.
An expert states that ATF’s NFRTR database is inadequate:
the NFA database might be reliable enough to start an investigation, but was nowhere near accurate enough to justify a conviction. The result was a hung jury, and there will be a retrial.
Seems to be a trend.
Full transcripts can be found here.
We here at SayUncle would like to welcome our friends from the ATF to the 1990s:
Instead of filling out the required ATF paperwork by hand, gun buyers and dealers will now be able to complete what officials say is a fail-safe electronic version of the document, known as Form 4473.
Speaking at a gun shop in Upper Marlboro where he announced the change, acting ATF Director Michael J. Sullivan said the new option would cut down on illegible answers and incomplete answers — the most common causes of violations.
In other news, is this an admission that all those supposedly willful violations they used to shut down federal firearms license holders weren’t, err, actually willful?
Update: More from David who wonders if this is the same software that ATF was accused of stealing.
David reports a victory for Kwan:
We therefore conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering a new trial to instruct the jury that the Government had to prove that Kwan had no other apparent legal purpose for the shoulder stock than to convert his unregistered pistol into an illegal short-barreled rifle.
AFFIRMED.
The burden of proof on the .gov? Novel concept.
Past coverage of the Kwan case here. Short version: ATF has a real hard-on for Kwan on petty gun law violations since another of their investigations of him turned up nothing.
Laurel notes the new form 4473s and an ATF re-imagining of the law:
I’d heard that the new Form 4473 now includes a category for “other,” no longer just differentiating between long guns and handguns. “Other” covers receivers and frames, apparently.
What I hadn’t heard until tonight is that the BATFE has also decided that while receivers and frames count as firearms, but are not rifles or shotguns, they are not legal to transfer to persons under 21 – even receivers that can only be made into rifles or shotguns.
Some neo-Nazi bone err skin heads decided to try to kill Obama. Ok, more likely, the neo-Nazi shit err skin heads got on Al Gore’s internets and entertained delusions of not being retarded and planned to kill black people and, ultimately, targeting Obama. The ATF was probably perusing stormfront or some other hotbed of racist douchebaggery, caught wind of it and moved in. I’m actually wondering just how credible a threat these two doofuses were? Yeah, they’re just kids but so were those two dipshits from the Columbine shooting. I’m not faulting the authorities for moving in and I do think they did the right thing. But I have to wonder if these two bozos were really a credible threat?
Justin notes that the form is changing:
They have checkboxes now for the “Yes/No” question section.
Good. Now they’ll stop shutting down dealers for making who just put a Y or N instead of spelling out Yes or No.
It also has a spot so that you can select bare receiver instead of just handgun or long gun.
Deputy Director Edgar Domenech just got a government “golden parachute” out. It’s impossible to sort out the internal politics involved, but he’d been demoted and said it was a result of exposing wasteful spending by the prior director.
And:
The ATF director has just been given a report from the Inspector General that is pretty devastating.
Another? They get like two per year and nothing changes.
It doesn’t treat agents that go after real gun crime very well. Sebastian notes, as I have said before, that this is why ATF spends so much time going after gun dealers who make clerical errors. Going up against real bad guys is dangerous.
The wide-stanced one continues to block Michael Sullivan’s confirmation:
For more than two years, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan has been consumed by the latest entry on his resume: acting chief of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Republican has been balancing both jobs while dealing with opposition to his ATF confirmation from members of his own party in the Senate. Now, with the presidential election a month away and Congress adjourned, Sullivan, 54, could soon end up unemployed.
Well, here’s hoping.
The ACLU filed the case on April 18, 2006, on behalf of Karen J. Kilpatrick, who claimed that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) violated her Free Speech rights.
Kilpatrick was driving her blue van in Pensacola on April 19, 2004, with the slogans “Remember the Children of Waco” and “Boo ATF” written on some of the windows when she was pulled over by police for questioning by the ATF.
The ACLU argues in the lawsuit that her First Amendment Rights to Free Speech and her Fourth Amendment right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure were violated when officers detained her for an hour, searched her car without consent, and ordered her to remove the writing on the side of her van.
“The ATF’s actions were unconstitutional and there was no legal justification to stop and question Ms. Kilpatrick. We believe that the ATF was trying to silence Ms. Kilpatrick and the 911 call substantiates this position,” said Bert Oram, ACLU cooperating counsel.
Via Joe, who is optimistic regarding potential future trends.
Update: Get the sticker here.
And for those just joining us, more on the ATF’s stellar record of performance can be found here.
A statistician testified that ATF’s National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) should only be used to pursue leads. As such, a jury became deadlocked on some charges:
The one big factor was the BATFE shot itself in the foot on this one because ERB registered a LOT of gun, all marked differently and all in different fonts…etc. There is no one or two ways that ERB marked and registered its guns. The BATFE went out and photographed about 20 guns (the legality of the BATFE using the NFRTR for this purpose is left for another article and the courts), all of which showed these different markings. The US Prosecutor was not happy about having to turn them over in discovery.
The BATFE has a LOT more to lose by retrying this case then letting it slip by. Moreover, just because the criminal case ended in an acquittal/mistrial, does not mean they cannot bring a forfeiture action to keep the gun.
In a major victory for those of us arguing that the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR) is insufficient for criminal proceedings, Dr. Fritz Scheuren, ?the? statistician in the United States (possibly the world), today informed the 10th District Court that the NFRTR is insufficient for criminal proceedings. While no decision has been rendered in the case of US v. Larry Douglas Friesen, this is a MAJOR defeat for the BATFE, who, over the years, has argued that although the NFRTR is flawed, it still can be used in criminal proceedings. To understand just how flawed the NFRTR is, see my article on the NFRTR violating Due Process.
If the US loses this case, there is some speculation on whether the BATFE will seek to appeal the decision because an appellate ruling that the NFRTR is insufficient would have disastrous consequences for the BATFE and the NFRTR. It is this author?s opinion that the BATFE would likely not appeal so to protect the integrity of the NFRTR in other court proceedings. Nevertheless, in any future cases, a competent attorney will be adding Dr. Scheuren as an expert to invalidate the NFRTR.
ATF’s own agents have noted that the NFRTR is corrupt. Past coverage of the ATF and the NFRTR here, here, and here.
Update: David has more.
Good:
A federal judge decided Tuesday that Jim?s Gun Jobbery of Fayetteville and the Jim?s store in Wilmington can keep their licenses to sell firearms.
Jim?s Gun Jobbery in Fayetteville and Jim?s Pawn & Gun in Wilmington sometimes violated regulations requiring dealers to closely track their inventory, U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard said in his ruling. But he decided the violations were unintentional and made up only a tiny percentage of the stores? sales since Jim Faircloth went into business in 1977.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has been trying since 2005 to revoke the licenses of Jim?s, said to be the largest gun dealer in North Carolina. The ATF said the stores repeatedly lost track of guns in their inventory over an eight-year period and had not resolved the problem despite repeated warnings.
Good for the judge. This has been a pattern with ATF for a bit, shutting down dealers for clerical errors that comprised a minuscule percentage of transactions. Meanwhile, ATF can’t keep track of it’s own guns.
That’s a bit of hyperbole. I’m using gun-ban-speak. But this was amusing:
The ATF lost 76 weapons and hundreds of laptops over five years, the Justice Department reported Wednesday, blaming carelessness and sloppy record-keeping.
Thirty-five of the missing handguns, rifles, Tasers and other weapons were stolen, as were 50 laptops, the internal audit found. Two of the stolen weapons were used in crimes.
The audit by Justice Department Inspector General Glenn A. Fine found “inadequate” oversight of weapons and laptops resulted in “significant rates of losses” at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“It is especially troubling that that ATF’s rate of loss for weapons was nearly double that of the FBI and DEA, and that ATF did not even know whether most of its lost, stolen, or missing laptop computers contained sensitive or classified information,” he added.
Actually, it’s disturbing that they lose any. Some numbers:
It found that ATF lost three times more weapons each month than it had in a similar 2002 audit by the Treasury Department, which used to oversee the agency. It also lost 50 times as many laptops as reported in the earlier audit.
Of the 76 weapons, 35 were reported stolen, 19 lost and 12 missing from inventories, investigators found. Of the 418 missing laptops, 50 were stolen, 8 lost and 274 could not be found during inventory. Another 86 laptops were unaccounted for because ATF had either destroyed or lost documents showing where they were, the audit concluded.
Two weapons reported stolen were used to commit crimes. In one instance, a gun was stolen from an ATF car parked outside the agent’s home and later used to shoot through the window of another residence, the audit found. In the other, a stolen ATF gun was taken from a burglary suspect.
Additionally, ATF employees did not report 13 of the 76 lost weapons, or 365 of the 418 missing laptops, to internal affairs as required. ATF officials also did not report much of the lost equipment to the Justice Department.
ATF continues its record of stellar performance!!
Via an alert reader, who notes: Sullivan’s solution – revise reporting standards for lost weapons – instead of ya know, revising standards for not losing them in the first place
Update: Meanwhile, the delicious irony of noting that ATF has shut down dealers who have made clerical errors with a smaller margin of error than ATF.
ATF decided to join the 20th century. I guess they realized this whole electronic records thing wasn’t just a fad.
Th Wrath Of Kwan!
District Court ruling, in pdf, here. Defendant, a reservist, has two handguns (one a semiauto, one a registered full auto) and two shoulder stocks that would fit either. The shoulder stocks double as holsters, and he has one handgun in each when ATF raids him (on other grounds, which turn out to be a legal mistake). Government argument is that the semiauto plus the stock in which it was holstered equal an unregistered short-barreled rifle. The District Court says no — using the Thompson Arms test, the two stocks had a purpose other than an illicit one, namely being fitted legally to the full auto.
Washington District court. Won’t matter much to you, given ATF tends to ignore court rulings, such as with Any Other Weapons.
A bit back, I noted ATF futzing with the definition and it looked pretty, err, loose to interpret.
Well, Sean Galt asked for clarification. We’ll see if he gets one. And that won’t matter much because they’ll change their mind and arrest you anyway.
Via tam.
According to ATF, probably. Ridefast notes some things that qualify:
# Drop in parts.
# Bluing and colorization.
# Sporterizing.
# Mounting a scope base.
# Installing a different sight.
Manuel Lora notes that coloring and heat-treating qualify as well.
Last night, I had a punch and big ass hammer out to fix the Enfield. I did not apply for a Federal Firearms License nor did I pay a Special Occupational Tax to do that.
ATF is pleased with the Supreme Court’s ruling recognizing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms, including for private purposes unrelated to militia operations.
And there’s this: In addition, the court appropriately recognized that the ‘carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons,’ such as machineguns, is not protected by the amendment.
I don’t think the court specified that machineguns were what they meant when they referred to dangerous and unusual weapons. All weapons are dangerous. And machineguns are only unusual due to 74 years of federal gun regulations.
We know that ATF holds a pistol with a forward vertical grip is classified as an any other weapon and it is subject to the NFA process. And we know that at least two courts have told ATF that does not pass the smell test yet ATF still holds that position. But ATF often disregards congress so what are a couple of courts?
Anyway, the question arises then, what about a bipod or a bipod with a grip? After all, Ruger’s new Charger comes with a bipod.
You could send them a letter asking. But it wouldn’t do any good because they’d later change their mind and come arrest you.
You’ll recall the story of David Olofson (past coverage here). He was supposedly sent to jail for a malfunctioning firearm. Reviewing the report from an ATF field agent don’t seem to jibe with some of Olofson’s claims. The agent claims that the firearm selector switch moved through all three positions (including the naughty switch) and that the bolt had been filed (see note 13) . Note 17 says nothing about soft-primered ammo. One of the allegations made by Olofson was that the firearms tests were not videotaped. Based on these affidavits, I can see how a jury could convict. And if they hadn’t got him for that, they could have got him for dealing firearms without a license.
Also, Lagniappe is not such a fan of GOA.
There are no winners.
Via Sebastian.
Update: This document doesn’t jive with the ATF report mentioned above.
Update 2: In comments, Sailorcurt notes some pretty major discrepancies between what ATF says and what happened:
Supposedly, Olafson had modified his AR-15 to fire three round bursts, however, the affidavit later states that when the BATFE tested it, it fired full 20 round mags in full auto. Modified or not, something wasn’t working right in that rifle.
According to the affidavit, Olafson was selling guns on E-bay…E-Bay doesn’t allow gun sales.
Armed and Safe looks at gun laws for AOWs: 10 years and a quarter million dollars–for a handle
Don’t even get me started on the shoulder thing that goes up.
Sullivan added that most licensed gun dealers are law-abiding and that, to be fair, ATF needs to apply the rules more uniformly across the country.
Well, you guys do in fact uniformly ignore the courts. And you uniformly prefer to go after clerical errors instead of real gun crime. Consistently bad is still consistent.
or Here’s how easy it is to inadvertently break federal gun laws and not even know it
For Christmas this year, my wife got me a subscription to Guns Magazine. It’s a good mag and there’s even a column in each issue by David Codrea. In short, I enjoy the magazine so I’m not trying to be unnecessarily harsh on these guys.
In the current issue, they review the KEL-TEC PLR-16. The following picture is on page 57.
On page 58, is a similar pic with a note that says something like equipped with a surefire flashlight and forward grip, it makes a fine home defense weapon. Trouble is that ATF holds that attaching a vertical forward grip to a pistol makes the pistol an Any Other Weapon (AOW). The manufacture of an AOW (which you would do simply by putting a foreward grip on a pistol) requires payment for a $200 tax stamp and an extensive background check. It’s basically the same process as buying a machine gun or suppressor. This, per sentencing guidelines, is a pretty serious violation that could result in 10 years in jail and a $250K fine. Now, this ruling has been successfully challenged in court in South Carolina. The court ruled that: Even after being modified with grips, the pistols are still “pistols” as defined above and not “any other weapon” as defined by 26 U.S.C. section 5845(e). But that doesn’t matter because ATF as an institution has acted as though that ruling never happened and still holds that such a grip makes a pistol an AOW.
This incident shows how easy it is to run afoul of gun laws, particularly when related to AOWs, short barreled rifles and pistols. Chris has a fine write up on the classifications here.
I’m sure the author of the piece thought absolutely nothing of it. After all, the flashlight fits on the picatinny rail. Just takes tightening a bolt. It’s easy to do and no one would think that putting a light on their handgun was a big deal. But it is. I hope Guns Magazine lets its readers know that when it comes to gun laws, the enthusiast acts at his peril.
I can see it now where the ATF rules that pistols can no longer come with rails as that makes them readily convertible to AOWs.
Careful out there.
Update: In comments, Mr. Taffin notes that the weapon was fired stock. The grip was only put on during photo ops.
Update 2: People keep pointing out that registering an AOW is only $5. That is true. But making one yourself (i.e., putting a grip on it) requires a $200 tax stamp.
This was emailed to me by reader JKB:
========================================
I’ve been taking a look at this Syracuse University Clearinghouse on federal law enforcement data (http://trac.syr.edu/). I got to the clearinghouse via this post at instapundit. The ATF data is interesting. Seems the ATF enforcement is more active in rural areas than in the big cities. I looked up Philadelphia out of curiosity since it doesn’t appear on the list of low activity. I found some interesting details which I lay out below; #1 in referrals but low prosecutions, top reason for non-prosecution: No federal interest.
I hope you find this useful if you weren’t already aware of the clearinghouse. I enjoy both your blogs. Keep up the good work.
BTW, the Tennessee East (Knoxville) ATF district is an active area for ATF referrals (18th out of 90) and has a good prosecution and conviction rate with longer than average sentences.
JKB
From the summary of Regional Patterns in ATF Enforcement:
Big cities have a reputation for having more armed felons than rural areas. And the ATF, moving out of the drug and alcohol enforcement business, is now concentrating its energies on prosecuting previously convicted felons who have been discovered with weapons.
Why then, when considered in terms of the number of referrals in relation to population, are six of the nation’s “big city” districts among the least active? In FY 2002, for example, California South (San Diego), California Central (Los Angeles), Illinois North (Chicago), California North (San Francisco), Massachusetts (Boston), and the District of Columbia all fell in the bottom third of the 90 federal judicial districts in the United States in terms of this particular measure.
As for Philadelphia:
Seems Philadelphia was #1 for referrals for prosecutions (2004) (latest data available free online)
But is #2 is declinations of prosecution (2004) or 89th out of 90 in referrals actually prosecuted
| District | City | #Prosecuted | # Declined | Percent | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | 10,238 | 6,798 | 39.9 | ||
| Mass | Boston | 95 | 555 | 85.4 | 1 |
| Penn, E. | Philadelphia | 238 | 1,340 | 84.9 | 2 |
| R.I. | Providence | 35 | 152 | 81.3 | 3 |
| Nevada | Las Vegas | 158 | 358 | 69.4 | 4 |
Interestingly, in the Pennsylvania East (Philadelphia) district, the top reason for declining to prosecute for 2003 (81.5%) and 2004 (86.4%) is “Minimal federal interest or no deterrent value”. (Note-There is a separate categories for prosecuted by other authorities, insufficient evidence, etc.)
The US Attorney for Eastern PA lists Safe Neighborhoods on top of his initiatives
Project Safe Neighborhoods is a firearms initiative that aggressively targets violent and dangerous firearms offenders in the local court systems (Philadelphia County and the surrounding suburban counties) for prosecution in the federal system. By prosecuting these cases in the federal system, the local and federal authorities hope to take advantage of a more certain and severe sentencing scheme, the pre-trial detention of federal defendants pending trial, and the swifter disposition of these cases in federal court
However, he seems to not find a federal interest to prosecute 85% of the cases the ATF referred for prosecution with 86.4% being declined due to lack of federal interest or no deterrent value. I wonder if the US Attorney had prosecuted Sergeant Liczbinski’s killers for the multitude of gun charges they had prior that fateful day if there would have been a deterrent value?
========================================
Interesting. A few notes:
So, what about enforcing the laws on the books. Why not try that first instead of clamoring with calls to do more, harder! Even though we’re not doing much with what we have, apparently.
As far as not prosecuting in the big cities, I wonder if that’s because ATF figure big cities with big PDs ought to do that on their own. It is, after all, not entirely uncommon for local PDs in small towns to generally look the other way when it comes to federal gun laws. If you don’t believe me, visit south Texas one day.
Here in Knoxville, our police are involved in Project Safe Neighborhoods. The signs are literally everywhere. I guess the prosecution rates relate to participation in that program.
I also found this bit interesting:
Are there not a fair number of armed felons in these six cities? Is it possible that these particular police departments are so proficient in the gun control business that ATF managers decided to deploy their troops in other parts of the country? Perhaps.
But the ten districts that come out on top in the listing of per capita ATF referrals raise other kinds of questions. This curious list includes Tennessee West (Memphis), Nevada (Las Vegas), Kentucky East (Lexington), Rhode Island (Providence), Louisiana Middle (Baton Rouge), Missouri West (Kansas City), Utah (Salt Lake City), Delaware (Wilmington), Oklahoma North (Tulsa) and North Dakota (Fargo).
So, no sign they’re out in South Texas either. Of course, that explains why drugs come in and guns go out.
More info here.
Interesting stuff, nonetheless.
Update: Ouch:
So if the feds aren’t using the laws to go after actual violent criminals, but are using the law to go after people like Wayne Fincher, David Olafson, and various other folks who are no threat to polite society, what use are they really in terms of public safety? What is the “federal interest” in sending hobbyists to federal prison, but not violent felons?
More ATF stuff here.
ATF has criticized the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Ownership for lying about trace data:
But ATF and gun proponents found flaws in the Brady Center’s calculations.
ATF supervisor Todd Reichert in Washington noted that the agency’s data included some gun sales that were originally made as much as 10 years ago, which is much longer than the two-year “time to crime” ATF considers an indicator of a possible illegal gun sale.
Reichert also said not all law enforcement agencies report recovered crime guns for tracing. And, he said, spikes in the numbers come after ATF help police agencies clear backlogs as those departments begin reporting recovered crime guns to the federal agency.
Though this is a refreshing change, it doesn’t quite make up for the fact that their special agents (ahem Tom Mangan like to get TeeVee time parroting Brady Campaign fabrications.
You’ll recall ATF’s Always Think Forfeiture brouhaha. Well, thanks to their boneheaded ass-hattery, comes a bill by Congressman Bill Sali:
Sali said he will pursue legislation to prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) from restarting the marketing program.
These guys continue their record of stellar performance!
For the second time that I can recall this year, ATF has gone after real gun crime and not people who forget to dot i’s and cross t’s or forget some paperwork thing.
Here’s the first one.
Over at subguns, they’re talking about ATF confiscating some machine guns. Seems that some dishonest people take the serial number of a cheaper machine gun (like a MAC) that is registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record (NFRTR – the national database that contains a list of transferable MGs and other NFA weapons) and convert said cheap weapon to a more expensive weapon. In the case, someone took the transferable MAC (worth about $3K) and fudged paperwork so that it was a transferable Browning (worth $15K). Four years later (and after congress told ATF to get it’s NFRTR shit together), ATF realizes that the gun registered was in fact a MAC and not a BAR. ATF shows up to take the gun. A few things:
1 – there are some shady dealers of NFA weapons out there so be careful;
2 – the guy involved is out his money, his gun, and any parts he could sell to offset losses. He’s a out a good chunk of change;
3 – A machine gun transfer takes any where from six weeks to six months to be approved by ATF. If the monkeys at ATF are not actually looking at the paperwork (which in this case would say this item was BAR with serial number XXXXX) and comparing it to the NFRTR (which would say it’s a MAC with serial number XXXXX) then they are being beyond negligent in their job. I would think as part of the supposed background check (which is just a NICS check any way) that takes so long, they could at least verify that the weapon is transferable and that the paperwork corresponds to an entry to the NFRTR. But, then, this is the sort of incompetence we’ve come to expect from ATF and their record of stellar performance. Personally, I think someone should sue.
4 – There is now one less transferable machine gun out there, which is probably the goal.
ATF has told Nevada that possession of a handgun carry permit is not a substitute for a national instant background check. That’s pretty lame for a variety of reasons, one of these reasons being that handgun carry permit holders break the law less than non permit holders.
Speaking of acting at your peril.
A new ruling from ATF classifies the FNC upper as the firearm. This is odd because on quite a few weapons (AK or AR) it’s the lower receiver that is considered the firearm. On others (FN SCAR and FAL) it’s the upper receiver.
Continuing their record of stellar performance.
The director of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has written to U.S. Rep. Bill Sali to say he’s sorry about the way the agency handled the Idaho Republican’s inquiry into a training slogan.
Last week, Sali accused ATF of offering misleading accounts of how the federal agency ended its use of the “Always Think Forfeiture” training slogan, which had angered some Second Amendment activists who thought it reflected a bias against law-abiding gun owners.
“I apologize for any confusion our response may have caused you or your staff,” wrote Michael Sullivan, the acting director of the agency, adding that he hoped his letter would give “a clearer picture of the sequence of events surrounding this issue.”
The dispute began when Sali claimed credit for ATF’s decision to stop engraving “Always Think Forfeiture” on Leatherman pocket tools handed out to trainees. But the bureau had already decided in March to stop using the phrase after other members of Congress complained.
Oh, we were just confused that the term Always Think Forfeiture meant, uh, Always Think Forfeiture. Glad that’s cleared up.
Via David, who says: Honesty is not something you should have to hope for. It’s something honorable men and women demand of themselves.
Word is circulating that a number of ATF supervisors, from field up to high HQ levels, Assistant Directors and such, are being effectively suspended (effectively, but without using that term) while higher powers look into their competence and allegations of abuse and/or fraud. The Inspector General is said to be taking a role, and some of those involved in matters like Red’s Trading Post are under the microscope.
I hope so. And it’s about time. The ATF continues its stellar performance. Past episodes include:
OMB cracks down on ATF’s letter rulings (you know, we mean it this week but next week maybe not)
ATF agents peddling anti-gun propaganda
Retaliation against whistleblowers.
Ignoring congressional recommendations.
Trouble with their database and lying about it.
Criticized by congress for going after clerical errors instead of, you know, real gun crime.
Unethical and illegal actions from field managers.
Lying in court and getting slapped for it.
Lying (or time-traveling) to make a case that one of their auditees is harassing them.
A circuit court smacks them down for their ruling on model rockets;
An agent testified under oath that the NFRTR (the NFA weapons database) was corrupt;
Having budget issues due to mismanagement;
Being investigated for breaking he law at Virginia gun shows.
And they’ve had funds cut for some of their rather, err, dubious programs.
The ATF Director has resigned over excessive and lavish spending.
The now former head of the ATF ordered staff to do his nephew’s homework.
And employees are coming forward with allegations of mismanagement.
David Hardy reports that the White House and OMB have started cracking down on ATF’s arbitrary abuse of power err letter rulings. You know, where one day they give you the OK. Then after you build a bunch of product, they change their mind and bankrupt you. You know, little things.
It is ATF though. And, hell, they ignore court rulings so the impact may not be much. But it is a start.
That pretty much nails. A few of us have been having that conversation off line for a while now. Partially due to uncertainty and because, frankly, that view would piss off a lot of pro-gun people. But Olofson fucked up and could have fucked us in the process. That doesn’t make ATF any less culpable for basically cheating to win.
Oh, yeah, we spent it all on an armored personnel carrier for Dellview, North Carolina.
Violent crime has increased in some cities in recent years in part because local police are too cash-strapped to fight it, the ATF chief said Monday.
The comments by Michael J. Sullivan, acting director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, echo pleas by mayors across the country for more federal dollars to combat crime.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Sullivan called battling violent crime the No. 1 priority of ATF and said the agency is trying to help cities with federal task forces and technology.
And that is why ATF is targeting gun dealers who make clerical mistakes on onerous government forms; shutting down dealers who acted in good faith on ATF’s written opinion that products were lawful; and prosecuting people whose firearms malfunction.
ArmedAndSafe tells us that HR4900 (the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) Modernization and Reform Act) has 165 Cosponsors. If your Rep (like mine, Jimmy Duncan) is not on the list then call and ask them why.
ATF actually goes after real gun crime!
More like that please. Of course, the article is filled with the usual PSH over assault weapons and cop killer handguns, which are illegal in the US. And this is unpossible:
“I just learned from Mexican authorities that more law enforcement officers were killed in Mexico last year than all the people killed in New York, Philadelphia, Newark combined,” Forcelli said. Mexican authorities told ABC News more than 2,000 law enforcement officers have been killed in the past 18 months.
Unpossible, with all of Mexico’s gun laws.
NRA is encouraging folks to call their congress critters and tell them to support HR 4900 (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act).
A new letter on suppressors and repair here. Don’t read too much into it because they’ll change their mind next week, not tell you, then arrest you for it.
ATF has no business attending gun control news conferences
Should a federal agency advocate a position on gun control? I think not. In fact, I think I’ll call my congress monkey and tell him that.
Update: Press coverage here.
The story so far: CavArms sold polymer lower receivers for AR-15s. The receivers were injection molded off site. CavArms reached an agreement and got an approval letter from BATF stating that the method of off site production was OK! ATF randomly changes it’s mind without telling anyone (like they do a lot) Then, they raid CavArms.
ATF has initiated Civil Asset Forfeiture for all of the firearms seized in the raid. The list includes firearms that belong to employees, customers, and were here on consignment. We are not going to let them take it all unchallenged, we have retained counsel specializing in asset forfeiture and will be talking with them this week. We will update with more information as it becomes available.
[…]
In Civil Asset Forfeiture, the Government sues the property, and you have to respond as a claimant proving you have a legal right to it. That is the jist of it….google it and you will find a lot of stuff.The way this stuff works is NOT how they tell you it works in high school civics class. I keep reading posts from people about “well the way things are supposed to be is…!” Well it’s not. The way things are supposed to be and the way they actually are, are two different things.
[…]
In Criminal Forfeiture, yes and you have to be convicted. In Civil Forfeiture you have to prove your innocence, or the innocence of the property as not being used in the commission of crimes, etc.
Remember, I do this to entertain me, not you.
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