Archive for the 'BATFE' Category

Survival Blog.

I am strongly opposed to this proposed rule. It is a gross violation of the Second Amendment. For the ATF to contravene their numerous and long-standing rulings that arm braces are legal is an absurd over-reach of regulatory authority. This is truly an “arbitrary and capricious” move.

Pistol arm braces serve a useful purpose for those who are crippled, deformed, injured, elderly, or infirmed.

Because of the numerous and long-standing rulings that arm braces are legal, there are now more than 3 million braces in private hands. Many of the guns equipped with these braces have changed hand numerous times, without any paper trail, as private party sales. So, even if the original owners were informed of the change in legal status via letters from the manufacturers or retailers, the subsequent owners may very well be oblivious. The end result will be that hundreds of thousands of people will become unwitting FELONS, overnight, with the stroke of the pen.

Because there is no compensation for the owners of the 3 million braces in circulation, the proposed rule is a grossly unconstitutional “taking”. Here is the math: 3 million braces valued at an average of $155 each equals $465,000,000. ($465 million dollars!)

These sorts of arbitrary and capricious moves by regulatory agencies undermine public trust in our government. If they continue, they will sow the seeds of so much discontent that they may lead to a revolution by righteously angry gun owners.

Good enough that I thought you should see it.

Survival Blog.

On August 31st, 1992 Randy Weaver surrendered to the Federal Authorities, ending the 10-day siege on Ruby Ridge. This is the incident that preceded the Waco siege and is known for the unconstitutional rules of engagement and overzealous actions by the jackbooted thugs of the federal authorities that resulted in the death of two innocent people– Sammy and Vicki Weaver, Randy’s son and wife. It is notable that Randy was acquitted of all charges except missing a court date and violating bail conditions on an ATF sting operation where it is suspected that Mr. Weaver did nothing wrong but that the ATF informant altered the shotguns sold to him by Weaver resulting in Weaver’s arrest. In addition, the missed court date was due to clerical errors on behalf of the court. All involved Federal agencies were publicly reprimanded, and the state of Idaho attempted to press charges against some individuals for their actions but were stymied due to federal interference.

And William Barr defended the actions of Lon Horiuchi.  Trump nominated Barr to be U.S. AG.

Never forget that.

Ammoland.

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 …

Well they will spare no expense to find and destroy him.

I have a friend who once had to install and demonstrate a piece of equipment in a plant, and when it became obvious that he needed to turn a wrench or wire something up, he sat down and did a few minutes worth of work to get the job done.

The entirety of the plant staff walked out.  You know the drill.  He didn’t think to call the workers responsible for that piece of work, he just did it because it needed to be done.  So the unionized plant staff was told to walk out.

I hate unions for this.  The American way is to learn what you need to get the job done.  Build, construct, engineer, buy the tools you need, and make something work.

This is the way America armed itself to hunt game and stay alive.  This is the way America armed itself for self defense.  And this is the way America armed itself in preparation for the war of independence.  To be sure, craftsmen were sought out to do the work at times, but every shooter must learn to maintain his own weaponry, just like he had to work on farm equipment.

I also hate that work on modern automobiles and trucks requires a diagnostic computer, to some degree a function of the emission controls equipment we shouldn’t have to have.

The ATF is a bureau of effeminate couch dwellers and controllers, fearful of everything, and helping nothing and no one.  They all ought to be handed a pink slip and sent to work on farms and ranches.

"@ameracctfnd said the former @ATFHQ agent recalled @DavidChipman saying:"

“'Wow, there were an unusually large number of African American agents that passed the exam this time. They must have been cheating.'”

THIS. MUST. BE. INVESTIGATED. https://t.co/IUymJpug82

— Gun Owners of America (@GunOwners) June 22, 2021

And not only that, but sexual harassment too.

This guy is a real loser.

News.

In written testimony this week, President Biden’s top pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), David Chipman, told the Senate Judiciary Committee he had never lost possession of a personal firearm or service weapon, but some lawmakers are unconvinced.

Four GOP senators — Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas, Mike Lee of Utah, and Judiciary ranking member Chuck Grassley of Iowa all had the same question for the retired ATF agent — did he ever misplace or have his firearm stolen?

Chipman wrote back to each senator with a definite “No,” according to testimony obtained by Fox News.

But a Senate staffer said their office has received information suggesting that Chipman’s answer may not be true, and they are still looking into the matter.

A separate source familiar with the allegations told Fox News that “Senate staff continue their inquiries about Chipman’s mishandling of service weapons.”

The White House defending the president’s nominee “David Chipman served honorably in law enforcement for 25 years – promoted into positions of trust and management at the ATF, participating in complex investigations, and putting himself in harm’s way as a member of the Bureau’s SWAT team,” White House spokesperson Michael Gwin told Fox News.

“Chipman stated to Congress these allegations are flat-out false, and leading law enforcement organizations are supporting his nomination to lead ATF,” he added.

Hmm …

I’m not sure where they’re getting this information from, but if this is true, that means perjury.

For the record, I’ve never misplaced or lost any weapons.  I may forget my name or leave the house without being fully dressed, but this is so important, so ingrained in me, so practiced, so second-nature, that it wouldn’t happen.

I would lose my truck keys before I lost a weapon, and I don’t lose my truck keys.

Ammoland.

The maximum length of a pistol would be 26 inches. That would make any AR15 style pistol with a barrel over seven inches an SBR regardless of any other determination features.  The measurements of a seven-inch AR pistol from the rear of the buffer tube to the front of the gun are 25 inches.

“Given the public interest surrounding these issues, ATF is proposing to amend the definition of ‘rifle’ in 27 CFR 478.11 and 479.11, respectively, by adding a sentence at the end of each definition. The new sentence would clarify that the term ‘rifle’ includes any weapon with a rifled barrel and equipped with15 an attached ‘stabilizing brace’ that has objective design features and characteristics that indicate that the firearm is designed to be fired from the shoulder, as indicated on ATF Worksheet 4999.”

• 1 point: Minor Indicator (the weapon could be fired from the shoulder)
• 2 points: Moderate Indicator (the weapon may be designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder)
• 3 points: Strong Indicator (the weapon is likely designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder)
• 4 points: Decisive Indicator (the weapon is designed and intended to be fired from the shoulder

The ATF would consider any gun with a score of four or more points an SBR.  Firearms over 13 ½ inches would automatically be an SBR.  If a pistol has a standard buffer tube, then the firearm would be assigned two points. The ATF would consider any gun that is over 120 ounces unloaded an SBR.

More confusingly, if a firearm has flip-up sights, then the ATF would give that gun one point towards becoming an SBR. The ATF would assign a gun with a red dot two points.  The ATF doesn’t see why a shooter would use a red dot pistol on a pistol.

The ATF would assign any gun with a hand stop two points.  That would put any firearm with a hand stop halfway to becoming an SBR.  The ATF would consider any gun with a secondary grip as an SBR.

[ … ]

The first choice is turning the guns into the ATF.  The ATF says this choice would be at “no-cost” to gun owners.  This move is gun confiscation.  The second choice would be to install a barrel that more than 16 inches long.  The third choice is to pay a $200 tax stamp and register it as an SBR.  The final option would be to modify the brace and not sell it to anyone in the future.

The document gives some alternatives. These alternatives include making the rules just guidance. That chance would mean that they would not have the force of law.  Other alternatives include grandfathering all firearms with braces or forgiveness of the tax stamp fee.

Sounds like a beauty contest where contestants answer panelist questions about solving world hunger.

They must be trying to outdo the complexity, stupidity and arbitrariness of 18 USC 922r.

UPDATE: Via David Codrea, GOA.

“Nearly every aspect of the Proposed Rule is either arbitrary and capricious, in excess of the agency’s jurisdiction, or in conflict with either statute or constitutional right. Often, it is all of the above. Numerous times, the Proposed Rule purports to blatantly rewrite federal law to suit ATF’s agenda.”

The Reload.

An internal Department of Justice document explaining how the Biden Administration plans to restrict so-called ghost guns was leaked on Tuesday.

The 107-page document, obtained by The Reload, outlines changes the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) wants to make to outlaw the sale of homemade gun kits by unlicensed manufactures. At the direction of President Joe Biden, the agency plans to propose federal rule changes, which would require anyone selling unfinished firearms receivers to obtain a federal license and mark the parts with a serial number. Anyone who continues to sell unfinished receivers without a license could face federal felony charges.

Utterly unconstitutional.  What are we going to do next?  Serialize springs and pipes?

Guns.com.

On April 8, U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., announced two new gun control proposals, H.R. 2426 and H.R. 2427. The former deals with making it illegal to give a firearm to someone who has had their state license to possess or purchase firearms revoked. The latter is termed the National Firearms Act Modernization Act and aims to increase the tax rates on NFA-regulated items such as machine guns, short-barreled rifles and shotguns, and suppressors.

Noting that the tax amounts in the NFA, established in 1934, have not changed since enacted – for instance, $200 in 1934 would be the equivalent of $3,925 in 2021 – Raskin’s proposal would immediately bump the rates by 50 percent. This would make the basic $200 tax stamps on most NFA transfers $300 moving forward. After that, the rate would increase in line annually with the federal cost-of-living adjustment.

At the same time that Raskin’s tax spike scheme was being unveiled, President Biden was announcing he would order the Justice Department to issue a proposed rule within 60 days, “to make clear when a device marketed as a stabilizing brace effectively turns a pistol into a short-barreled rifle subject to the requirements of the National Firearms Act.”

Just keeping you informed.  This is what your betters expect you to do.

This is an ugly picture.  The new nominee to head the ATF went on Chinese television (CGTN America) to shill for gun control in America.