Uncategorized
by Grassley Fires Another Salvo At DOJ And Holder
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has fired another salvo at Attorney General Eric Holder and the Justice Department over Operation Fast and Furious (aka Project Gunwalker). In his latest letter, Grassley releases e-mails sent by an unnamed FFL in Arizona to ATF Group VII Supervisor David Voth along with Voth’s replies. They show that at least one cooperating gun dealer was quite concerned that these straw purchases would end up in Mexico.
Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News reports that Rep. Darrell Issa and Sen. Grassley are sharing information received from the Justice Department. However, as she notes, the response by DOJ hasn’t been very forthcoming.
So far, Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), who is also investigating the gunwalking scandal, say they have received little to no meaningful response to their document and information requests from ATF and the Department of Justice. Earlier this week when the Justice Department turned over selected materials to Rep. Issa’s staff, sources say Grassley’s staff were now allowed entry or access to the same materials.
Grassley notes in his letter that the Justice Department has not provided his office or staff with even one page of the requested documents. He goes on to say that he hasn’t requested that Sen. Pat Leahy, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, issue a supoena or document request because “any such request would be unnecessary and duplicative of the process on the House side.”
The previous responses by the Justice Department from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich brought this from Sen. Grassley.
The Department’s failure to cooperate with my requests is especially troubling in light of the February 4, 2011, reply to my initial letter. In that reply, the Justice Department took the position that those allegations were “false” and specifically denied “that ATF ‘sanctioned’ or otherwise knowingly allowed the sale of assault weapons” to straw purchasers. The letter further claimed that “ATF makes every effort to interdict weapons that have been purchased illegally and prevent their transportation to Mexico.”
I already provided evidence contradicting that denial in my February 9 and March 3 letters. In addition, attached you will find further documentation undermining the Department’s assertion. Specifically, the documents are emails between ATF officials and a Federal Firearms Licensee (FFL) in Arizona. These emails demonstrate that ATF instructed gun dealers to engage in suspicious sales despite the dealers’ concerns. The emails refer to meetings between the FFL and the U.S. Attorney’s office to address the concerns being raised by the FFL.
Grassley goes on to say that the Justice Department’s claim that they didn’t authorize or allow the sale of firearms to straw buyers is simply not believable. He then goes on to put Holder on the spot by asking the two following questions. He requests a response by April 20th.
1. Do you stand by the assertion in the Department’s reply that the ATF whistleblower allegations are “false” and specifically that ATF did not sanction or otherwise knowingly allow the sale of assault weapons to straw purchasers? If so, please explain why in light of the mounting evidence to the contrary.
2. Will you commit to providing the Senate Judiciary Committee with documents, or access to documents, simultaneously with the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform? If not, please explain why not.
CBS News has video of Grassley discussing his letter and the email on the floor of the Senate.
The emails that have been released definitely show that the FFL was concerned about where these firearms went. He had friends who were U.S. Border Patrol agents and didn’t want them to be harmed by his cooperation with ATF. Beyond just the emails, Grassley’s staff has also interviewed the FFL. They are definitely worth reading to see how the dealers were “played” by ATF in the course of their so-called investigation.
SB 560 – Greater Protection For North Carolina Shooting Ranges
State Senator Andrew Brock introduced SB 560 on Tuesday in the North Carolina Senate. The bill says, in effect, that a range that moved from its present location to a new location due to annexation, road construction, zoning changes, etc. would still be considered in continuous operation.
*S560-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A SPORT SHOOTING RANGE THAT RELOCATES DUE TO CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES IS STILL CONSIDERED TO BE CONTINUOUSLY IN EXISTENCE SINCE BEGINNING OPERATION AND NOT TO HAVE UNDERGONE A SUBSTANTIAL CHANGE IN USE.The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14-409.46 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
“(f) For the purposes of this Article, a sport shooting range that relocates due to condemnation, rezoning, annexation, road construction, or development:
(1) Is still considered to be continuously in existence since beginning operation at its previous location; and
(2) Is not considered to have undergone a substantial change in use as the result of the location.”
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law.
The importance of this bill is due to the protections granted in NCGS § 14‑409.46 – Sport shooting range protection. If a range was continuously operated from 1994 onwards without any substantial changes in the use of the range and was in compliance with any noise ordinances at the time the range began operation, then it cannot be sued over noise issues.
With the increasing population growth and increasing suburbanization of North Carolina, ranges that used to be far from residential location are suddenly finding themselves surrounded by housing subdivisions. This protection would be very useful if they do decide to move due to development.
That certainly is the case with the Asheville Rifle and Pistol Club south of Asheville near the French Broad River. There is a new housing development in the last 5 or so years that is just over the ridge from the 200-yard rifle range. See the picture below which is a screen capture from Google Maps. You have to wonder if the developer or the people buying the houses were aware that a rifle range was just over the ridge when they purchased either the land or the homes.
ATF Shakes Up Leadership Of Phoenix Office
Allen Lengel at Tickle the Wire is reporting that Thomas Brandon, the head of the Detroit ATF, office will temporarily fill in as head of the Phoenix Field Division.
Brandon will fill in for the Phoenix special agent in charge, William D. Newell, who has been sent to Washington to help prepare and answer questions about Operation Fast and Furious for Congress and the Office of Inspector General, the sources said.
Newell joins Jim Needles, an assistant special agent in charge of the Phoenix Division, who has been temporarily assigned to Washington to also help prepare answers for the various inquiries, sources said. Another assistant special agent in charge of the Phoenix office has taken a sick leave. It is unclear where all the agents involved in the moves will wind up, and whether they’ll return to their old posts.
“Another assistant special agent” would be George Gillett who has requested whistleblower status from Senator Chuck Grassley’s office.It was only yesterday that a leaked memo on CleanUpATF reported the Gillett was acting head of the Phoenix office from Monday through Friday. Things must change fast in Arizona!
To: Phoe-CE Supervisors; Phoe-940Staff; Phoe-IO Supervisors
Sent: Mon Apr 11 13:13:42 2011
Subject: Designation
In accordance with ATF O 1100.168, ASAC George Gillett is designated as the acting SAC for the period of 4/11/11 – 4/15/11. He can be reached at (602) 776-XXXX, or on his cell phone (602) 653-XXXX.
Mike Vanderboegh at Sipsey Street Irregulars takes up the story on the field reaction to Newell and Needles being temporarily reassigned to Washington and on Gillett going on “sick leave”. Follow the link to his page to read more.
As many have noticed, little has been heard or seen of Andrew Traver throughout this whole scandal. David Codrea’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request did uncover a couple of emails which pointed to Traver. Those give an indication that he may not be so out of the loop on the Headquarters’ reaction as he and the Obama Administration would have us believe.
Along those lines, Michael Bane warns that we need to be watchful that Traver isn’t being repositioned as the clean white knight sent in to clean up the Operation Gunwalker mess.
One thing to watch for is the White House using the current ATF scandal to create the next ATF scandal by shoving Chicago thug Andrew Traver down Congress’ throat as the new head of ATF. Traver’s career is rife with conflict of interests — working with International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Joyce Foundation promoting antigun causes — and overtly lying to the media on the difference between a “semiauto” and a “machinegun.”
His most recent weekly podcast, Downrange Radio, also discussed Operation Fast and Furious as well as Traver.
From The Country Formerly Known As GREAT Britain
It is hard to believe nowadays that at one time the sun never set on the British Empire. In other words, that little island nation of sailors and merchants had grown into an empire that stretched around the globe. Of course it didn’t happen overnight and it certainly couldn’t have happened without men and women full of vigor and of stout courage.
They must be rolling in their graves now.
In a news report today from that nation formerly known as Great Britain comes a report that fire extinguishers are being removed from communal areas in flats (apartments buildings in American English) because they are considered a safety hazard. The hazard comes not from juvenile delinquents spraying the extinguishers in the faces of little children and old ladies. No, the hazard is that they will encourage people to use initiative and fight a fire.
The life-saving devices encourage untrained people to fight a fire rather than leave the building, risk assessors in Bournemouth decided.
There are fears that their recommendation, which has seen the extinguishers ripped out of several private, high-rise flats in the town, could set a national precedent.
Under the Fire Safety Order of 2005, fire assessments must be carried out to ‘eliminate or reduce risk as is reasonably practical’.
While private citizens have challenged this and residents are fearful of fire as a result of their removal, some are actually defending this move.
Dorset Fire and Rescue defended the move, saying: ‘Obviously, in some cases, an extinguisher could come in useful but, with new building regulations, every escape route should be completely fireproof.’
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents backed their removal because different extinguishers should be used on different types of fire.
I guess I shouldn’t be so surprised at the creeping nanny-statism of the UK. After all, if you defend yourself against armed intruders with even a piece of wood, you’ll probably do more time than the intruder.
I Am Shocked!!!!
The Violence Policy Center just released a new report today condemning the National Rifle Association for accepting donations from those in the gun industry. They also condemned the “round-up” or “add-a-buck” programs. They are calling both types of these programs “Blood Money”. The so-called research report is called Blood Money: How the Gun Industry Bankrolls the NRA.
By the estimates of the Violence Policy Center, the NRA has received between $19 million and $52 million since 2005 from the gun industry. The largest single contributor is MidwayUSA. While I know Larry and Brenda Potterfield are quite generous with their own money, I imagine the biggest part of the donations from MidwayUSA comes from customers like you and me. It comes in the form of many, many small donations when we tell Midway to round up our order and send the difference to the NRA.
The other major thing that the Violence Policy Center neglected to mention is the number of dues-paying members the National Rifle Association has. It is in the neighborhood of 4 million life and annual members. If the average dues per member was only $25, this would generate $100 million in revenues annually. Since annual dues are actually $35 per year, the $100 million is probably a low-ball figure.
I guess when you don’t have dues paying members and subsist on handouts from the Joyce Foundation ($4.635 million since 2003), you tend to ignore the financial impact of dues paying members. According to VPC’s 2009 IRS Form 990, they had no members and a reported $924,927 in revenue. $585,000 of their 2009 revenue came from the Joyce Foundation. If I were the Joyce Foundation, I’d start to question if I was getting my money’s worth.
Firearm Owners’ Protection Act Of 1986
Dave Hardy, attorney and legal scholar, has done gun rights activists a great service. He has posted and updated his legislative history of the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986. As he notes:
A large portion of what we today regard as the Gun Control Act of 1968 — and virtually all of its safeguards and protections — derives, not from the legislation of 1968, but from the amendments known as the Firearm Owners’ Protection Act, pushed in the House by Rep. Harold Volkmer, and in the Senate by Sen. James McClure. That statute extensively rewrote the earlier law, expressly overruled six Supreme Court decisions construing it, and negated about a third of the case law which had arisen under it.
Having an understanding of the Act – and what it took to get it passed – is important if we want to continue to pass legislation to preserve, protect, and advance our Second Amendment rights.
Dave deserves a great deal of thanks for the hard work that it took to assemble this history of FOPA. Much of the data and historical information was buried in various government documents. Out of this morass of historical documents, Dave has assembled something that is readable and understandable.
Constitutional Carry Passes Montana House
From the NRA:
Permitless Carry Passes Montana House; Pending in State Senate
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Today, the state House voted 69 to 29 to adopt the Conference Committee report for NRA-supported House Bill 271. Sponsored by state Representative Krayton Kerns (R-Laurel), the current language of HB 271 simply says that the prohibition on concealed carry does not apply to “a person who is eligible to possess a handgun under state or federal law.”
Existing law allows any person who can legally own and possess a firearm to carry it openly, either loaded or unloaded, anywhere in the state, including within city limits. Additionally, law-abiding citizens are authorized to carry firearms concealed, without a permit, anywhere outside city limits. Law-abiding citizens do not suddenly turn into criminals when they cross the arbitrary boundary into a city. It makes no sense to allow them to carry concealed without a permit on one side of the line but not the other!
HB 271 is still pending for a vote in the state Senate to concur on the Conference Committee report. Please contact your state Senator TODAY and respectfully urge him or her to support the Conference Committee amendment to House Bill 271. Legislators can be reached via phone at (406) 444-4800 and via e-mail by clicking here. If you need help identifying your state Senator, please click here.
Thank you for working hard to ensure that HB 271 becomes a reality!
“Assault Clips”?
The newest ad campaign from the Brady Campaign.
With their attack on “assault clips”, the Brady Campaign is responsible for more sales of Glock 18 magazines and their clones than probably any other factor since the beginning of the year. I know I bought 5 Korean Glock 18 clones a couple of months ago – and I don’t even own a 9mm Glock!
As for the Brady Campaign’s new video, I think the slogan should be:
The Brady Campaign. Promoting Poor Marksmanship Since 1974.
Tough Enough To Shoot Pink
Breast cancer research receives a donation from Federal for each box of these shells sold. I can get on-board with that. Now that I know about it, I’ll start to see if local dealers have any in stock and buy a few boxes.