AmmoLand.com

National Shooting Sports Foundation Responds To Firearms Trafficking Article

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn --(Ammoland.com)- Unfortunately, a recent Houston Chronicle article on firearms trafficking neglected to mention, among other things, the active cooperation between members of the firearms industry and law enforcement.

For example, NSSF, the trade association for America’s firearms industry, has partnered with ATF for more than a decade on a national campaign to make the public aware that it is a serious crime to “straw purchase” a firearm.

The industry-funded program, called Don’t Lie for the Other Guy, also helps ATF educate firearms retailers to better detect and prevent illegal straw purchases — which, contrary to the author’s unsubstantiated claim, never spiked after 2004. Read NSSF’s complete letter to the editor.

In related news, a FOX News special report today detailed how sales of firearms from the U.S. government to the Mexican government may be falling into cartel hands.

NSSF has reported on this issue in the past, noting that more than 150,000 Mexican soldiers have defected to work for the drug cartels — bringing their American-made service-issued firearms with them. Watch the FOX News video above.

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 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.

Filed under: Ammoland TV, Gun Rights News by Ammoland No Comments »

Federal Grand Jury Indicts Three Dallas-Area Men on Federal Firearms Charges
Defendants Allegedly Made “Straw Purchases” in “Lying and Buying” to Illegally Acquire Firearms for Others.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

DALLAS, TX --(Ammoland.com)- DALLAS – A federal grand jury in Dallas has charged three local men with various federal firearms offenses related to their scheme to illegally acquire firearms they intended to transfer to others, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas.

The three defendants, Ranferi Osorio, 27, and his brother, Otilio Osorio, 22, and Kelvin Leon Morrison, 25, have been in custody since their arrest on Feb. 28, 2011, by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and other state and local agencies, on charges in related criminal complaints.

The six-count indictment, returned today, charges each defendant with one count of conspiracy to acquire a firearm from a licensed dealer by false or fictitious statement and four substantive counts of that offense. It also charges Ranferi and Otilio Osorio with one count of possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

According to the indictment, if a person buys a firearm for someone else but claims that he or she is the actual transferee/buyer of the listed firearm(s), the firearm acquisition is called a “straw purchase” and the conduct is called “lying and buying.” The indictment alleges that beginning in July 2010 and continuing through at least Nov. 2010, the defendants made false statements to a licensed dealer to illegally procure at least 10 firearms, that they intended to transfer to others. Together they formulated a plan that included selecting the licensed dealers and the types of firearms to be purchased and acquiring the firearms from those dealers by making false statements intended to deceive the firearm dealer.

The indictment also alleges that on Nov. 9, 2010, the Osorio brothers knowingly possessed 12 Romarm, Model Draco, 7.62×39 caliber pistols which had the serial numbers obliterated.

An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury, and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, each count of acquiring a firearm from a licensed dealer by making a false or fictitious statement carries a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Upon conviction, the conspiracy count and the possession of a firearm with a removed or obliterated serial number, each carry a maximum statutory sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the ATF, DEA, FBI, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations and the Lancaster, Texas, Police Department. Deputy Criminal Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Gary Tromblay is in charge of the prosecution.

Filed under: Shooting Industry News by Ammoland No Comments »