Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously sided with Gun Owners of America in finding that the placement of a Global Positioning Device on an automobile constitutes a “search” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority opinion in U.S. v. Jones was written by Justice Antonin Scalia and follows GOA’s reasoning to throw out the “reasonable expectation of privacy” test which has been thought to be the dominant Fourth Amendment standard in recent years.

The Obama Administration argued that because the police could theoretically follow Antoine Jones’ car, he had no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and thus, placing a GPS device on his car was justified. GOA argued, however, that this constituted an “unreasonable search and seizure” which violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

This decision will have dramatic ramifications for gun owners. Indeed, the Court looked to the Founders’ intentions with respect to the Fourth Amendment, which, until the latter part of the 20th Century, was understood to restrict the ability of police to “trespass” upon the persons or property of Americans.

“This is no less than a fundamental transformation of American jurisprudence concerning searches and seizures,” according to GOA’s Executive Director Larry Pratt. “And it is a transformation which throws out fake modern jurisprudence and restores the Founders’ intent.”

The “reasonable expectation of privacy” test flowed from a Justice Harlan concurring opinion in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967). Gun Owners of America had argued that the Supreme Court should jettison that decision by an activist court, and a majority of the justices agreed.

“The ‘expectation of privacy’ test for searches and seizures arose without support in the text or historical context of the Fourth Amendment, and has proven wholly inadequate to protect the American people from their government,” argued GOA.

Four members of the court – led by Samuel Alito, and joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan – argued for the continuation of the “reasonable expectation of privacy test,” but concluded that planting a GPS device on a car for 28 days constituted a Fourth Amendment “search” under that standard as well.

The Obama administration, which had argued that planting a GPS device on a car was not a “search” under the Harlan standard, was unanimously repudiated by the High Court. And the case is being cited by the mainstream media as a defeat for Obama and his Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Said Pratt: “This is yet another failure by Eric Holder, the most corrupt and incompetent Attorney General in the history of the Republic.”

Gun Owners would like to thank its activists for their support. Your contributions helps GOA to assist in future cases like this at the Supreme Court.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun-raid family faces a judge: kasa.com

FirearmsCoalition.org

Manassas, VA --(Ammoland.com)- A family of four – Rick Reese, his wife Terri, and their two sons, Ryin – 24 and Remington – 19 – was arrested in Las Cruces, New Mexico on August 30, 2011.

They have been held in four separate county and federal detention facilities without bond ever since. Their alleged crime is that, over the course of several months, they sold between 15 and 30 guns to people they knew, or should have known were gun traffickers for Mexican drug gangs. The Reeses insist that they are innocent of any crime.

Shortly after they were arrested in Las Cruces, dozens of police vehicles, including four armored personnel carriers and two helicopters, full of armed officers and agents from numerous federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies swarmed over the Reese’s home and businesses. The entire firearm and ammunition inventory was taken from Rick Reese’s store as well as his entire personal collection of firearms and all cash and valuables from his home safe. Even the 30 to 40 empty gun safes that were on display at the store were seized. US Attorney Ken Gonzales indicated that he is going to seek asset forfeiture of the Reese’s home and 25 acre property (including the shooting range on the property which he leased to various law enforcement agencies), all of the cash and valuables seized, their vehicles, and a monetary judgment of at least $36,000 from whatever assets might be left.

In a prepared statement to the press US Attorney Gonzales stated: “This case serves to put firearms dealers on notice that they will be held accountable for any failure to comply with federal firearms laws.”

I have no real problem with that statement except that I strongly disagree with many federal firearms laws, but until we can get those changed, licensed dealers are obligated to comply with them. What’s more, dealers, particularly dealers in southern border states, have been well aware of heightened scrutiny and enforcement for the past several years. It is almost inconceivable that any dealer, particularly a successful and prosperous one like Rick Reese, would jeopardize their life and livelihood for the sake of a few ill-gotten dollars.

What bothers me most though, is the heavy handed treatment of the Reese’s, the judges refusal to establish bond for them, and something else that US Attorney Gonzales said: “Those who sell firearms knowing that they will be illegally smuggled into Mexico to arm Mexican Cartels share responsibility for the violence that has been devastating Mexico.”

Did Anyone Hear of Fast & Furious?
While the Reese family sits in their various jail cells accused of should have known, it should be pointed out that in Operation Fast & Furious, the ATF and DOJ, along with the US Attorney for Arizona, twisted dealers arms to get them to sell over 2000 guns to traffickers for Mexican drug gangs. They did this with every intention of allowing the un-monitored guns to reach the bad guys and only tracked them by the crime scenes where they quickly began to show up. The program was only stopped when two of those guns turned up at the scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s murder.

My question for US Attorney Gonzales is; when are those responsible for Fast & Furious going to be arrested and tried for their contributions to “the violence that has been devastating Mexico?”

Something else to consider when looking at the Reese case is that convicted straw purchasers are typically sentenced to less than one year in prison – if they are prosecuted at all. Prosecutors generally require that straw purchasers have records of purchasing high numbers of guns and that some of those guns can subsequently tied to violent crimes. Such standards make the aggressive treatment of the Reese family, all of whom have spotless records in their business and their personal lives, look even more excessive.

I don’t know the Reeses and really have no idea whether they knowingly broke the law. I do know that they had a reputation for being responsible citizens, and that they have insisted that they are innocent and will not plea bargain. I also know that they are facing well over $100,000 in just basic legal costs. If Rick and Terri and the boys are eventually exonerated, they will walk away with probably $200,000 in legal bills and damaged, depreciated inventory – if they can recover it.

Courts are notoriously loath to return guns under any circumstances and even less inclined to return ammunition. Rick’s plans to close the shop at the end of the year and run for Sheriff are crushed. His son Ryin’s plans to open a new shop in Las Cruces with a lot of his father’s remaining inventory are also destroyed.

Regardless of the Reese’s guilt or innocence, this case raises serious questions about the equity of our legal system, the show-boat tactics of some federal law enforcement agencies, and the complexity of our nation’s gun laws.

Crimes should be punished, but more importantly, justice should be served. That doesn’t seem to be happening in this case. I’m going to keep monitoring this one.

You can donate to the Resse’s Defense Fund here:

Copyright © 2011 Neal Knox Associates – The most trusted name in the rights movement.

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)- When it came time for Attorney General Eric Holder to make his opening comments, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-CA) requested that the A.G. be sworn under oath.

Issa had already noted that Congress had been lied to and that in previous hearings, Holder & Co. displayed the “unheard of” habit of redacting their letters and testimony to the Congress.

Congressman Lamar Smith (R-TX) said that it wasn’t necessary for Holder to be sworn under oath because it was understood that he was already under oath by virtue of the purpose for which he was appearing. Issa then asked Smith if he was sure that Holder was bound as being under oath, and Smith verified that he was.

So it was settled, and Issa had made his point – Holder should choose his words carefully.

Cameras then turned to Holder who said he was happy to describe the “decisive action” his department has taken “to ensure the flawed tactics actions used in operations Fast and Furious and in earlier operations under prior administration are never repeated.” (Notice the jab at Bush.) He then took time to brag on how the 117,000 employees of the DOJ throughout world have basically saved American from apocalypse. (He did this by describing what he called the DOJ’s historic progress in protecting the American people “from global terrorism and violent crime, financial fraud, human trafficking, and more.”)

He finally turned his attention to the Southwest border, i.e., the one the DOJ/ATF allowed 2,500 weapons to walk across. Here, DOJ’s “battle against gun violence” took center stage:

In recent years, the department has devoted specific resources to this fight and specifically, to addressing the unacceptable rate of illegal firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. Unfortunately, in the pursuit of that laudable goal, unacceptable tactics were adopted as part of Operation Fast and Furious. As I have repeatedly stated, allowing guns to walk, whether in this administration or the prior one, is wholly unacceptable. The use of this misguided tactic is inexcusable. It must never happen again. Soon after learning about the allegations raised by agents involved in Fast and Furious I took action designed to ensure accountability. In February I asked the department’s acting Inspector General to investigate the matter. And in early March I ordered that a directive be sent to law enforcement agents and prosecutors prohibiting such tactics.

I have a question: How did Holder address the “allegations” associated with gun walking in Fast and Furious in February if he didn’t know about Fast and Furious until mid-April? Remember, when he first gave testimony to Congress on May 3, he told Issa he had only known about Fast and Furious for a few weeks:

On May 3rd Issa asked: “When did you first know about the program…called ‘Fast and Furious?”

Holder responded: “I’m not sure of the exact date, but I probably heard about Fast and Furious for the first time over the last few weeks”

This exchange notwithstanding, Holder is now telling Congress about the actions he took in light of allegations about Fast and Furious in February and March. In fact, he specifically said he issued a directive in March against “such tactics” (i.e., gun walking) after the allegations of such tactics were made by ATF agents.

No wonder Issa is mad and tired of being lied to. The American people should be outraged as well.

Somebody in Issa’s office needs to review Holder’s opening comments and call him out for this.

AWR Hawkins

About:
AWR Hawkins writes for all the BIG sites, for Pajamas Media, for RedCounty.com, for Townhall.com and now AmmoLand Shooting Sports News.

His southern drawl is frequently heard discussing his take on current events on radio shows like America’s Morning News, the G. Gordon Liddy Show, the Ken Pittman Show, and the NRA’s Cam & Company, among others. He was a Visiting Fellow at the Russell Kirk Center for Cultural Renewal (summer 2010), and he holds a PhD in military history from Texas Tech University.

If you have questions or comments, email him at awr@awrhawkins.com. You can find him on facebook at www.facebook.com/awr.hawkins.

U.S. Department of Justice

Greenbelt, Maryland –-(Ammoland.com)- A federal jury convicted Chinua Shepperson, a/k/a “Nu,” “NuNu” and “King Nu,” age 28, of Washington, D.C. late yesterday of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise known as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings), murder in aid of racketeering, robbery, using a gun during a crime of violence and murder resulting from use of a gun during a crime of violence.

The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer, of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Interim Chief Mark Magaw of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Angela Also brooks.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “Chinua Shepperson robbed and murdered a Hyattsville man, and participated in an armed robbery in order to further his position in the Latin Kings. The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges against criminal gangs is proving effective in removing violent offenders from the streets and making our neighborhoods more safe.”

“The Latin Kings is a brutal gang that uses violence to achieve its ends,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “With Mr. Shepperson’s conviction, all 19 defendants charged in this investigation have been held to account. Our deliberate approach to prosecuting the Latin Kings and other gangs is taking violent offenders off our streets, and working to make our communities safer.”

“The ATF RAGE Task Force built a strong case against the Latin Kings through tireless police work documenting the criminal acts of the defendants and the RICO enterprise,” says ATF Special Agent in Charge Theresa Stoop. “The jury heard the facts of the investigation, including the violence perpetrated by Shepperson and the Latin Kings. The success of this investigation shows the effectiveness of the criminal justice system, and how hard ATF works to combat gang violence.”

The Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined – along with various “prayers,” codes of behavior and rituals – in a written “manifesto” widely distributed to members throughout the country. Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given “King Names” or “Queen Names,” which are names other than their legal names, by which they are known to members of the gang and to others on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including, the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.

Latin Kings members to engage in gang activities from a date unknown until November 2009. In furtherance of the conspiracy, Shepperson and other gang members participated in the armed robbery of a prostitute at a motel in Laurel, Maryland on December 14, 2007. Shepperson also conspired with other gang members to rob and murder John Realpe Montoya. On April 25, 2008 Shepperson robbed John Realpe Montoya of cocaine and fatally shot him behind the Marylander Condominiums in Langely Park, Maryland.

All 18 co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy. Shepperson faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams scheduled sentencing for June 17, 2011 at 9:30 a.m.

Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Breuer thanked the ATF–led RAGE Task Force, including the Gaithersburg Police Department; the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland National Capital Park Police – Prince George’s County Division; and the Maryland State Police; as well as, the New York Police Department; the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attoneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Lara M. Peirce, a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, who are prosecuting the case.

NRA - ILA

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox Calls for Expedited Hearings into BATFE Investigative Tactics

On March 9, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox sent letters to key leaders in Congress calling for hearings to examine the firearms trafficking investigations tactics employed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Those tactics have allegedly allowed firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican criminal organizations, with the knowledge of the BATFE.

In the letters sent to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Ranking Member, John Conyers (D-Mich.) and their counterparts in the U.S. Senate, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), Cox wrote that the BATFE project “reportedly allowed over 2,000 firearms to be sold to individuals already linked to Mexican drug cartels.

Many of those transactions were reported as suspicious by the licensed firearms dealers themselves, but BATFE reportedly encouraged them to proceed with these sales, which the dealers would otherwise have turned down.”

Cox also called on the committees to look into the BATFE responses to inquiries about these suspect programs, stating “Any investigation should also examine the responses by the BATFE and the Department of Justice to earlier congressional inquiries about the ‘Fast and Furious’ program.”

Read the full text of these letters below.

NRA Letter to Senate & House Leaders Regarding the BATF Gun Runner Scandal

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

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. --(Ammoland.com)- U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Paul J. Vido and Huntington Police Department Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook, along with several members from the law enforcement community joined today to announce a major, long-term undercover law enforcement effort targeting the Fairfield West area of Huntington.

A total of 55 defendants have been charged with federal crimes including illegal firearm possession, drug trafficking and other offenses. Arrest warrants have been issued for each individual involved in the criminal activity.

The criminal probe began in April 2010, targeting numerous traffickers of stolen firearms and individuals who participated in illegal drug transactions in and around Huntington. The investigation, conducted by federal and local agents, resulted in the seizure of illegal drugs with a street value of over $500,000 and more than 100 firearms.

U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin stated, “When I took office the middle of last year, I made fighting violent drug crime in Huntington my top priority. This operation, charging 55 defendants, underscores the substantial ongoing effort that we are making to help the citizens of Fairfield West and the city of Huntington take back their streets.”

More than 200 federal, state and local agents took part in the firearms and narcotics take-down effort. The defendants include drug traffickers, members and associates of drug trafficking organizations, convicted felons, as well as several local gang members.

“Because of the hard work and dedication of the undercover agents, 110 firearms and over one half million dollars of illegal drugs were taken off the streets of Huntington,” ATF Special Agent in Charge Paul J. Vido said. “Today’s enforcement actions proved that ATF will do everything in our power to protect our neighborhoods and communities. Criminals beware and be prepared to face the consequences.”

Huntington Police Department Chief W.H. “Skip” Holbrook stated, “This operation is a testament to how much can be accomplished in a coordinated effort. This operation deals a major blow to the criminal element here in Huntington. This is a great day for the citizens of Fairfield West, the city of Huntington and this region as a whole.”

U.S. Department of Justice

McALLEN, Texas --(Ammoland.com)- A United States citizen, who had resided in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been sentenced to 37 months in federal prison without parole for straw purchasing 13 firearms, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

Jesus Quintanilla, 26, convicted of one count of purchasing firearms for others after pleading guilty in October 2010, was sentenced this morning by Chief United States District Judge Ricardo H. Hinojosa. Quintanilla has been in federal custody without bond since his July 2010 arrest and will remain in custody to serve his sentence.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigation which lead to the charges against Quintanilla began after the ATF received reports that Quintanilla had purchased numerous highly trafficked firearms between July 8 and 16, 2010. After ATF agents saw Quintanilla’s attempt to purchase an additional AK-47 type weapon (the attempted purchase was denied) agents approached Quintanilla. Quintanilla admitted to agents that he had previously purchased nine AK-47 type weapons and four pistols for another person who was reportedly associated with a Mexican drug cartel.

At today’s sentencing hearing, Judge Hinojosa included enhancements for trafficking firearms and for using and possessing a firearm in connection another felony offense, specifically, the exportation of firearms in deciding upon the ultimate sentence handed down. Following the completion of the prison term the court has ordered Quintanilla to serve a three-year term of supervised release. As a convicted felon, Quintanilla will be prohibited by federal law from even possessing a firearm in the future.

Assistant United States Attorney Steven Schammel prosecuted the case.

MK-19 Fully Automatic Grenade Launcher

U.S. Department of Justice

BIRMINGHAM --(Ammoland.com)- A federal grand jury today indicted two Texas men for surreptitiously trying to buy an automatic grenade launcher, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and ATF Special Agent in Charge Glenn Anderson.

The indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges ADAM EMMANUEL LEWIS, 27, and ANTONIO RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO, 25, with conspiring to possess a machine gun that was not registered to either man in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

The men were attempting to buy an MK-19 fully automatic grenade launcher from an undercover agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to the indictment.

“The weapon these individuals sought to obtain is powerful and destructive. It is a dangerous and frightening scenario that anyone would seek to purchase an automatic grenade launcher outside the bounds of law,” Vance said. “The ATF is to be commended for its diligent work that prevented such a destructive weapon from being bought secretly and potentially used criminally,” she said.

“Lewis and Rodriguez-Arellano were looking for a low-key purchase of an illegal grenade launcher, plain and simple,” Anderson said. “Fortunately, this investigation stopped that from happening. Firearm trafficking cases like this one prevent violence, save lives and keep illegal weapons off the street,” he said.

According to the indictment, LEWIS’ and RODGRIGUEZ-ARELLANO’s attempts to buy the grenade launcher developed as follows: LEWIS contacted an ATF confidential informant on Nov. 29 to arrange the purchase of an unregistered automatic grenade launcher. On Dec. 3, both LEWIS and RODGRIGUEZ-ARELLANO traveled from Texas to Cullman in an attempt to buy the weapon. In subsequent phone calls from Dec. 3 to Dec. 15, LEWIS and RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO negotiated the payment and logistics for buying the grenade launcher with an undercover ATF agent.

On Dec. 15, RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO traveled from Texas to Leeds, where he paid the undercover agent about $24,000 for the MK-19 automatic grenade launcher, according to the indictment.

RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO and LEWIS both were arrested Dec. 15. RODRIGUEZ-ARELLANO was arrested in Leeds and LEWIS was arrested in Texas. The men could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The ATF investigated the case with assistance from the Cullman County Sheriff’s Department Narcotics Enforcement Team. Assistant U.S. Attorney Enid Dean Athanas is prosecuting the case.

Members of the public are reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government’s burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.

Buying More than One Shotgun the DOJ & BATF Want to Know

National Rifle Association

Charlotte, NC --(Ammoland.com)- As we noted in the Sept. 24, 2010 Grassroots Alert, a draft report prepared by the Justice Department Inspector General had called into question the BATFE’s mega-million-dollar Project Gunrunner program.

Established in 2007, this program sought to expand the agency’s firearm tracing operation, relative to the still uncertain amount of smuggling of firearms from the United States to Mexico. This week, the report appeared in final form.

Like the draft, the final report notes that despite Project Gunrunner’s lavish funding, the program suffers because the BATFE fails to coordinate with its own people, with those of the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and with Mexican officials.

“We also found no routine sharing of firearms trafficking-related information and techniques between ATF intelligence personnel in Southwest border locations and in the ATF Mexico Country Office,” the report says. “ATF and ICE do not work together effectively on investigations of firearms trafficking to Mexico. . . . ATF does not systematically and consistently exchange intelligence with its Mexican and some U.S. partner agencies.”

And, like the draft, the final report calls into question the value of many of the BATFE’s tracing operations. In FY 2009 and 2010, BATFE received $59.4 million to fund Project Gunrunner, but “most trace requests that are submitted to ATF from Mexico are considered ‘unsuccessful’ because of missing or improperly entered gun data. . . . [T]he percentage of total trace requests that succeed has declined since the start of Project Gunrunner. Moreover, few of the traces that do succeed generate usable investigative leads. . . . Mexican law enforcement officials view gun tracing as merely a tool that ATF uses to further its own investigations. The Mexican officials did not see the long-term benefits of gun tracing in reducing the flow of illegal guns to Mexico. . . .”

However, the final report differs from the draft in one conspicuous respect. Whereas the draft merely noted that dealers are not required to report multiple sales of long guns, as they are with sales of handguns, the final report flat-out recommends that the BATFE “Work with the Department [of Justice] to explore options for seeking a requirement for reporting multiple sales of long guns.” To justify its recommendation, the report claims “[l]ong guns have become Mexican cartels’ weapons of choice,” without noting that no one knows what percentage of the cartels’ guns are long guns, or what percentage of their long guns ever had any connection to the United States whatsoever.

In a response to the report, the BATFE says it agrees with the recommendation, but that requiring multiple sales reports on long guns “may” require a change in federal law—although existing law makes clear that Congress only imposed such a requirement for multiple handgun sales.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has joined Mexico’s president, Felipe Calderon, as a card-carrying member of the “Blame America First Club”—perverting the traditional economic model known as “supply and demand” —to fault the United States for supposedly “supplying” guns to law-breakers who smuggle the guns to Mexico, and for “demanding” the drugs that the Mexican cartels smuggle into our country.

To enthusiastic applause by a number of members of the House of Representatives and Senate, many of whom are currently clearing their Capitol Hill offices to make way for their replacements, a straight-faced Calderon told a joint meeting of Congress on May 20, 2010, that the drug-smuggling problem’s “origin is the high demand for drugs here and in other places. . . . However, there is one issue where Mexico needs your cooperation, and that is stopping the flow of assault weapons and other deadly arms across the border.” (At 19:30 and 22:28 in the video.)

Since Calderon’s hypocrisy got a free pass from the nation’s anti-Second Amendment “news” media, Clinton gave it a go in even plainer terms last month. During “Remarks to the Commonwealth Club” in San Francisco, Clinton said “the United States shares the responsibility for the violence that is plaguing Mexico. Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs. Our unwillingness to crack down on thousands and thousands of weapons being trafficked across our border into Mexico.” (At 1:03:30 in the embedded video.)

The threat of increased gun control originated by Executive Department bureaucrats according to the Inspector General’s recommendation, perhaps without Congress’ participation, reminds us that increasing the pro-Second Amendment majority in the House and Senate earlier this month must be followed by not only expanding that increase in 2012, but by, at the same time, electing a president whose nominations and appointments to key Administration posts will underscore his own commitment to protect the right of the people to keep and bear 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

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn. –-(AmmoLand.com)-  Over the past year, the Don’t Lie for the Other Guy program — jointly developed by ATF and the National Shooting Sports Foundation — has been rolled out in several areas along the southwest border of the United States.

The campaign completed its fifth launch of the year last week in San Diego and continues to demonstrate the industry’s strong stance against illegal straw purchases of firearms.

The goal of the program is twofold: to warn residents and visitors about the severe penalties associated with illegally purchasing a firearm, and to educate federally licensed firearms retailers on how to better detect and deter potential straw purchasers.

“NSSF has for nearly a decade partnered with ATF and the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Justice Programs (OJP) on the Don’t Lie program. This partnership is a great example of coordination and tangible success on the federal, state and local levels and with federally licensed firearms retailers throughout the country,” said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane.

Watch a video with testimonials from firearms retailers and ATF on the success of the program. Also, listen to a recent WCBS radio interview.

Retailers: Get Your Free ‘Don’t Lie’ Tool Kit
NSSF readily makes its “Don’t Lie for the Other Guy” retailer tool kit available for free to retailers wherever they live and do business. Retailers with multiple locations can request one for each store. Individual components of the retailer tool kit are also available upon request. Order online at www.dontlie.org or by contacting NSSF’s Cindy Brutting at cbrutting@nssf.org or 203-426-1320.

About NSSF
The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 4,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.