Archive for the 'BATFE' Category

Issuing letters, rescinding those letters, warning against doing the same thing in the very letter they sent to rescind the initial order, trying to stay out of court, confiscating without arrests, and on and on the merry-go-round spins.

Oooo … an Ashville MSM journalist writes a breathless article about ghost guns.  We should all be askeerd.

“In the case of the pistols here that you see, these were all purchased in undercover investigations by ATF,” Mein said.

The area of the frame or receiver where a manufacturer is required to add crucial serial numbers on these kits is blank.

“Those markings give us the ability to trace that gun. By tracing the firearm, we’re finding out who manufactured it, who retail sold it and who the original purchaser is,” Mein said.

The firearms anonymity is driving up their presence at crime scenes.

Let’s stop right there.  Firearms anonymity cannot possibly do or cause anything.  Maybe they don’t teach journalism or logic in college any more.

If unserialized firearms (that’s what we should call them) are more prevalent than in years gone by, that could explain an increased prevalence in crime scenes.  It would only stand to reason if the firearms at crime scenes are a cross section of the firearms in circulation.

As for the notion that serialization is “crucial,” that’s preposterous.  Person-to-person sales are still legal and the work to trace a firearm all the way back to the original buyer means absolutely nothing.  This is a raw ploy to scare the ignorant and easily scared into demanding laws against manufacture of their own weapons and person-to-person sales, and the ATF isn’t just going along with it all, I wouldn’t be surprised if the idea for the story came from them.

A federal rule change in April now makes those kits easier to trace. It will require serial numbers to be included on the frame or receiver. Sellers must also be licensed.

“It would provide that background screening,” King said.

Licensed manufacturer Phil Flack agreed serial numbers help investigators with cases.

“I think so, in one sense for the law enforcement community,” said Flack, owner of P.F. Custom Guns in Buncombe County.

Still, Flack continued, “The law has always allowed for individuals to manufacture their own firearms.”

He is worried new rules could impact enthusiasts and hobbyists more than criminals.

“If you’re going after somebody who’s not really a threat, what have you accomplished,” Flack said.

Phil, haven’t you learned how this works yet?  Don’t talk to the press – nothing good can come of it.

Via correspondent Roger.

Nobody is surprised by this via The Gun Feed.

In the years before the Biden-Harris administration took over the White House, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives usually revoked an average of 40 Federal Firearm Licenses (FFLs) per year. But, in the 11 months since Joe Biden declared war on “rogue gun dealers,” the ATF has revoked 273 FFLs – an increase of more than 500%. However, rather than targeting the true rogues, Biden’s ATF is revoking FFLs for the most minor of paperwork errors, which were never a concern for the ATF until Biden weaponized the agency.

He goes on to explain that the “Vast Majority” don’t like it. That’s hilarious. We don’t believe that for a second! Perhaps it’s just a few bad apples?

“This has nothing to do with the ATF and everything to do with the DOJ,” said John Clark of FFL Consultants. Clark is a firearm industry expert who said the ATF announced the number of revocations at a recent Firearm Industry Conference.

“The vast majority of the ATF don’t like this any more than the industry does,” he said. “It’s Biden.”

The Vast Majority strikes again. Somebody, please notify Mr. Codrea at WoG.

Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) thinks he can fight the permanent bureaucracy, the foot soldiers of Woodrow Wilson’s administrative apparatus. Hawley will lose, or if he oversteps, we know what the regime does to those trouble makers.

Senator Hawley asked, “What steps does ATF intend to take to ensure that any new information that may be retained by FFL dealers pursuant to Final Rule 2021R–05F is not subsequently used for the targeting of lawful gun owners by federal authorities or other politically-motivated purposes?”

The government(s) is in open insurrection against the people and a state of anarchy, doing what it pleases while ignoring its laws, branches, and departments.

There’s already a database.

The Rule goes in the Federal Register on April 26, 2022, effective in 120 days.

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (“Department”) is amending Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) regulations to remove and replace the regulatory definitions of “firearm frame or receiver” and “frame or receiver” because the current regulations fail to capture the full meaning of those terms. The Department is also amending ATF’s definitions of “firearm” and “gunsmith” to clarify the meaning of those terms, and to provide definitions of terms such as “complete weapon,” “complete muffler or silencer device,” “multi-piece frame or receiver,” “privately made firearm,” and “readily” for purposes of clarity given advancements in firearms technology. Further, the Department is amending ATF’s regulations on marking and recordkeeping that are necessary to implement these new or amended definitions. DATES: This rule is effective [INSERT DATE 120 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION IN THE FEDERAL REGISTER].

The Rule states that “[C]ourts have treated the regulatory definition of “firearm frame or receiver” as inflexible when applied to the lower portion of the AR-15- type rifle…” This rule is designed to go around the courts. Also, the AR-15 Platform is now a “ghost gun” or something. And “parts kits” are now guns.

I think he makes it clear that he hasn’t been through all of it and there’s more to come.

BLUF.  The rule is a mess, with massive vaguery throughout (probably by intention).  Lack of clarity is always the friend of overbearing regulators and controllers.

For now, until and unless the ATF decides otherwise, they have a calculated mess for manufacturers to deal with, but AR-15 upper receivers are not included in this mess and do not require serialization.

If you’re a mechanic and like to work on things, the FedGov hates you.

UPDATE: The rules are as clear as mud.

I was discussing this with Len Savage today and no one knows yet the extent of this.  I was speculating that it will declare 80% lower receivers to be illegal unless serialized.  Len thinks that’s just the beginning.

The Biden administration will come out with its long-awaited ghost gun rule — aimed at reining in privately made firearms without serial numbers that are increasingly cropping up at crime scenes — as soon as Monday, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.

[ … ]

For nearly a year, the rule has been making its way through the federal regulation process. Gun safety groups and Democrats in Congress have been pushing for the Justice Department to finish the rule for months. It will probably be met with heavy resistance from gun groups and draw litigation in the coming weeks.

Another reader on this same discussion thread was speculating that they will require that uppers and lowers be serialized the same, making it illegal to purchase uppers and lowers separately.

We’ll see.  Either way, this is as obvious an infringement as could be imagined.

So that’s the way it happens.  Completely without Congress, if you want to make something illegal, you just declare it so, sort of like Trump did with bump stocks.

He set the standard, so all of you Trump sycophants have no room to complain about this upcoming ruling.

After the Chipman Debacle, Biden Has Reportedly Found Another Candidate to Head the ATF.

During an unsuccessful run for attorney general of Ohio in 2018, [Steve] Dettelbach called for reinstating the assault weapons ban and universal background checks on gun purchases—two positions that have sparked GOP opposition to past nominees. A U.S. attorney from 2009 to 2016, he sought a return to that post last year. He has supporters in high places. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) has been pushing him as a nominee for ATF director, according to four people familiar with the conversations.

And: Not even ATF can verify ATF’s ‘ghost gun’ claims

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has a unique reputation among federal law enforcement agencies. Quite frankly, the ATF is well known for not always telling the truth.

It’s shocking; imagine our surprise.

The Missouri Sheriffs certainly wear pink panties.  This time, it’s the Greenville County Sheriff, Hobart Lewis.

GREENVILLE — Months after Greenville County Council passed an ordinance proclaiming the county a Second Amendment sanctuary, the issue came back before the council Jan. 20 as frustrated gun owners said the law hadn’t gone far enough in its punishments.

The ordinance restricts the use of county tax revenue and resources to enforce any potential future federal gun restrictions.

A group, many wearing orange “Guns Save Lives” stickers, attended the council meeting after social media calls by the nonprofit, locally-organized United Patriots Alliance said residents’ rights to keep and bear arms were in danger because the council removed criminal penalties from the version of the ordinance it passed in September 2021.

That ordinance was championed by the same group and brought to the council by Councilman Steve Shaw, a gun law attorney. Shaw modified the ordinance to remove the criminal penalties and focus solely on financial implications after Attorney General Alan Wilson’s office issued an opinion on a similar ordinance considered in Aiken County.

The attorney general’s opinion issued in August 2021 said the state legislature “covers the field” on the regulation of firearms and his office expected attempts by counties to regulate firearms would not be upheld if challenged in court.

At the time, Greenville County Sheriff Hobart Lewis also said he was concerned about criminal penalties that could snag sheriff’s deputies who unknowingly went against the county ordinance. But Councilman Joe Dill, who reintroduced criminal penalties in an amendment the council will consider, said the county either needs to have a penalty for breaking its ordinance or it should do away with it entirely.

“I think it will stand up,” Dill said. “I don’t think there’s a judge that will say you’re overstepping your bounds.”

If the amendment passes, it would add penalties of up to 30 days in jail and up to a $500 fine to anyone who violates the ordinance.

Councilman Lynn Ballard said he still has questions about who the ordinance would target and how it would be enforced.

Dill said that would include anyone who comes on a resident’s property and tries to confiscate a weapon. That could include the arrest of federal officers or those designated to enforce possible future gun rights restrictions, he said.

Residents who spoke Jan. 20 questioned whether Republican members of the council were conservative enough. Speakers included a pair of candidates who have announced plans to run for the Republican nomination for the U.S. House District 4 seat, including Michael LaPierre and Mark Burns.

Questions posed, so questions answered.

Will it hold up in court?  It doesn’t matter.  Anyone who asks that question doesn’t understand what’s happening here.  You don’t ask.  You don’t go to court.  You enforce the statute.  Screw the judges.

Who enforces it?  The Sheriff enforces it.  If it’s one of his own, he should have trained them better.  He has to put his own deputy in jail.  Period.

Are those punishments severe enough?  No.

Is it really possible that a deputy or city cop “unknowingly” goes against the ordinance?  No, not unless you’re a kindergartener.  This should be easy enough.  Find out who’s on the other end of the phone.  If it’s an agent of the FedGov, threaten to arrest them if they come into your county.

I’m glad I could help solve these problems for you.