AmmoLand.com

BATFE’s ‘Project Gunrunner’ Comes Under Additional Scrutiny

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- We have previously reported on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “Project Gunrunner” and its inherent problems.

Established in 2007, this program sought to expand the agency’s firearm tracing operations to address trafficking to Mexico. A CBS News story this week brought more scrutiny and additional questions to bear on the controversial program.

The CBS News story detailed the circumstances surrounding the tragic death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry. Guns found at the scene of the murder were allegedly obtained by a “gun runner” in Arizona, and then sent to criminals in Mexico. And, according to the story, BATFE was not only aware of the situation, but may have inadvertently facilitated it.

The story details how, in late 2009, BATFE was alerted to suspicious transactions at seven gun shops in the Phoenix area. The story alleges that several gun shops wanted to stop the questionable sales, but BATFE encouraged them to continue.

Apparently, Jaime Avila was one of the suspicious buyers. The story reports that BATFE put Avila in its suspect database in January of 2010, and, for the next year, watched as Avila and other suspects bought large quantities of firearms for “personal use.” The purchases included 575 semi-automatic rifles, most of which were allegedly allowed by BATFE managers to be “moved to the streets” for the reported purpose of gathering intelligence and to see where the guns ended up. The story reports that the tactic is called letting the guns “walk, “ and quotes one unnamed BATFE agent who called the strategy “insane,” and another who said, “We were fully aware the guns would probably be moved across the border to drug cartels where they could be used to kill.”

The story goes on to note that, hours after Agent Terry was gunned down, BATFE arrested Avila, and the U.S. Attorney’s office has since indicted 34 suspected gunrunners in the same group.

Reportedly, the Justice Department has said that BATFE has never knowingly allowed the sale of “assault weapons” to suspected gunrunners.

As we detailed in last week’s Grassroots Alert, the U.S. House has voted for an amendment to a continuing appropriations bill offered by Reps. Dan Boren (D-Okla.) and Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) that would prohibit the use of federal funds for the new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by BATFE. The measure passed the chamber (277-149) with broad bipartisan support.

BATFE is demanding the authority to require all of the 8,500 firearm dealers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report all sales of two or more semi-automatic rifles within five consecutive business days, if the rifles are larger than .22 caliber and use detachable magazines. The CBS report casts continuing doubt on whether BATFE could make any effective use of the thousands of new reports the agency would receive under this proposal.

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Filed under: Ammoland TV, Gun Rights News by Ammoland 3 Comments »

National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill Introduced In U.S. House

National Rifle Association

FAIRFAX, Va. --(Ammoland.com)- Last week, H.R. 822, was introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.).

The measure would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed carry permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms. A state’s laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders. The bill also applies to Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.

H.R. 822 would not create a federal licensing system. Rather, it would require the states to recognize each others’ carry permits, just as they recognize drivers’ licenses and carry permits held by armored car guards. Rep. Stearns has introduced such legislation since 1995.

Right-To-Carry: The National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Bill
H.R. 822, introduced in the U.S. House by Representatives Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.) and Heath Shuler (D-N.C.), would allow any person with a valid state-issued concealed firearm permit to carry a concealed firearm in any state that issues concealed firearm permits, or that does not prohibit the carrying of concealed firearms for lawful purposes. A state’s laws governing where concealed firearms may be carried would apply within its borders. The bill applies to D.C., Puerto Rico and U.S. territories.

• H.R. 822 recognizes the significant impact of the landmark cases, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) and McDonald v. City of Chicago (2010), which found that the Second Amendment protects a fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms and that the protections of the Second Amendment extend to infringements under state law.
• Today, 48 states have laws permitting concealed carry, in some circumstances. Forty states, accounting for two-thirds of the U.S. population, have right-to-carry laws. Thirty-six of those have “shall issue” permit laws (including Alaska and Arizona, which also allow carrying without a permit), two have fairly administered “discretionary issue” permit laws, and Vermont (along with Alaska and Arizona) allows carrying without a permit. (Eight states have restrictive discretionary issue laws.)
• Citizens with carry permits are more law-abiding than the general public. Only 0.01% of nearly 1.2 million permits issued by Florida have been revoked because of firearm crimes by permit holders. Similarly low percentages of permits have been revoked in Texas, Virginia, and other right-to-carry states that keep such statistics. Right-to-carry is widely supported by law enforcement officials and groups.
• States with right-to-carry laws have lower violent crime rates. On average, right-to-carry states have 22 percent lower total violent crime rates, 30 percent lower murder rates, 46 percent lower robbery rates, and 12 percent lower aggravated assault rates, compared to the rest of the country. The seven states with the lowest violent crime rates are right-to-carry states. (Data: FBI.)
• Crime declines in states with right-to-carry laws. Since adopting right-to-carry in 1987, Florida’s total violent crime and murder rates have dropped 32 percent and 58 percent, respectively. Texas’ violent crime and murder rates have dropped 20 percent and 31 percent, respectively, since enactment of its 1996 right-to-carry law. (Data: FBI.)
• The right of self-defense is fundamental, and has been recognized in law for centuries. The Declaration of Independence asserts that “life” is among the unalienable rights of all people. The Second Amendment guarantees the right of the people to keep and bear arms for “security.”
• The laws of all states and the constitutions of most states recognize the right to use force in self-defense. The Supreme Court has stated that a person “may repel force by force” in self-defense, and is “entitled to stand his ground and meet any attack made upon him with a deadly weapon, in such a way and with such force” as needed to prevent “great bodily injury or death.” (Beard v. United States (1895))
• Congress affirmed the right to own guns for “protective purposes” in the Gun Control Act (1968) and Firearm Owners’ Protection Act (1986). In 1982, the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution described the right to arms as “a right of the individual citizen to privately possess and carry in a peaceful manner firearms and similar arms.”

About:
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. Four million members strong, NRA continues its mission to uphold Second Amendment rights and to advocate enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the military. Visit: www.nra.org

Filed under: Shooting Industry News by Ammoland No Comments »