February Background Checks On Firearm Sales Second Highest On Record...

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,243,211 checks in February 2010, ranking the month the second highest February (eighth highest month overall) for most NICS checks.

This figure, while being a 1.3 percent decrease from the 1,259,078 checks conducted in February 2009 – the early stage of an ongoing surge in firearms and ammunition sales – is an increase of 21.7 percent over checks in February 2008.

The total number of background checks reported since the beginning of NICS is 112,380,272.

69% of people surveyed say Cities Don’t Have Right To Ban Handguns
As the Supreme Court considers the McDonald v. Chicago case, a new poll from Rasmussen Reports shows that 69 percent of Americans say city governments do not have the right to prevent citizens from owning handguns.

These findings are unchanged from June 2008 just before the Supreme Court overturned Washington, D.C.’s law banning handguns in that city. Read the full story from Rasmussen Reports.

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.

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16 Months & Counting US Demand For Firearms Keeps Marching

Total NICS Gun Buyer Background Checks 2009

AmmoLand Gun News

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) for the year reported 14,033,824 NICS Checks for the year of 2009, a 10 percent increase in gun purchases from the 12,709,023 reported in 2008.

So far that is roughly 14,000,000+ guns bought last year!
The total is probably more as many NICS background checks cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time by individuals.

To put it in perspective that is more guns than the combined active armies of the top 21 countries in the world. countries by number of troops

Of the NICS background checks preformed less than and average .005% were denied, showing, overwhelmingly, that law abiding American citizens are the ones buying guns and that criminals are getting their guns elsewhere.

14,033,824,000 billions rounds of Ammo
Assuming each gun buyer bought 1000 rounds of ammo for each purchase, and you and I know that it is way, way more than that, that would be easily 14,033,824,000+ billions rounds of ammo fired by USA gun owners.

What percent of people were killed or injured by this ammo…it is just to infinitesimally small for me to calculate?

Crime At Record Lows
This record year in firearms background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of exercising their civil right to Keep and Bear Arms.

In a year were crime has reached an all time record low what is plainly clear is that more guns equal LESS CRIME!

Countries By Number Of Troops: Source Wikipedia

This is an evaluation of overall firearms and ammunition purchases based on low end numbers per Federal NIC instacheck data base Statistics. The numbers presented are only PART of the overall numbers of arms and ammunition that have been sold.

The actual numbers are much higher.

Firearms Manufactures Working Hard To Keep Up

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Gun Owners Buy 14 Million Plus Guns In 2009 – More Than 21 of the Worlds Standing Armies

National Rifle Association

New York, NY - -(AmmoLand.com)- Skilled marksmen know that parallax—caused by having your head in the wrong place when looking through your sights—can cause you to miss your target.

As New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has demonstrated yet again, having your head in the wrong place can also result in a miss where gun control is concerned.

Bloomberg’s group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has produced a 51-page “Blueprint for Federal Action” calling for seven federal departments and agencies—the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security, the FBI and BATFE, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), and the White House Office of Management and Budget—to implement 40 changes to federal gun law interpretation and enforcement. The manifesto doesn’t state what its recommendations are intended to accomplish. However, knowing that Bloomberg believes “More Guns Means More Crime,” we can safely assume that he intends to reduce gun sales.

Enter the problem of parallax.
Within the last few weeks, the FBI has reported two sets of data that are not in dispute, both of which challenge Bloomberg’s presumptions. First, murders dropped more than 10 percent in 2009, extending to approximately 51 percent the steady decrease in the nation’s per capita murder rate since 1991. Second, since the November 1998 inception of the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS, supported by the NRA and opposed by the Brady Campaign), the system has approved over 109 million firearm-related queries. The 10 percent drop in murder between 2008 and 2009 coincided with a 14 percent increase in NICS checks, and annual NICS checks have increased by 62 percent since the expiration of the federal “assault weapon” ban.

A normal person taking these facts into account would conclude that restrictions on gun sales are not what cause crime to decrease. After all, the nation’s murder rate has fallen to a 45-year low, while gun control restrictions have been mostly on the wane, and the number of privately-owned guns in the U.S. has risen to an all-time high, growing by over 4 million every year.

But Bloomberg isn’t seeing it that way. The mayors’ “blueprint,” includes calls for expanding the variety of firearms banned under the Gun Control Act’s “sporting purposes” test, requiring “REAL ID”-compliant identification for all gun purchases, requiring dealers to notify BATFE when transferring multiple handguns to their personal collections, maintaining certain NICS records for longer than the 24 hours currently allowed, conducting criminal enforcement operations against gun shows rather than against individual dealers suspected of violating the law, suppressing sales of firearms by private parties at gun shows, providing BATFE an additional $53 million to conduct FFL audits, requiring dealers to maintain records of trace requests, expanding BATFE firearm tracing operations, funding additional gun control research, and empowering the CPSC to regulate the manufacture of gun locks.

Fortunately, Bloomberg’s latest effort has been mostly ignored by legislators and the media. (Indeed, it was never publicly released, and only divulged in response to a Freedom of Information Act request.)

But it serves as a clear reminder that gun control supporters, who claim the Supreme Court’s decision in District of Columbia v. Heller gives a green light to all gun control other than a total ban, intend to make it as difficult as possible for lawful citizen to buy, sell and possess guns in general. And by promoting these initiatives to regulatory agencies, they want to achieve their real goal—undermining the Second Amendment—without bothering to get any new laws passed by a Congress that might not go along with their scheme.

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

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Gun Rights Hater and Gun Banner Bloomberg Fails to Admit the Obvious

Second Amendment Foundation

BELLEVUE, WA – -(AmmoLand.com)- A ten percent drop in murders during the first six months of this year at a time when gun sales were up dramatically is more proof that there is no correlation between gun ownership and violent crime, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

The FBI released data Monday that shows murders dropped by 10 percent from the same period in 2008. Meanwhile, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) shows that during the first six months of this year, gun sales were up. January 2009 background checks rose 28.8 percent over the same month in 2008, February’s NICS checks were up 23.3 percent and in March they were up 29.9 percent over March 2008. The trend continued in April, with NICS checks up 30.3 percent, while May showed a slowdown, up only 15.5 percent, and in June they were up 18.1 percent.

“What this shows,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “is that gun prohibitionists are all wrong when they argue that more guns result in more crime. Firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens are no threat to anyone. Perhaps violent criminals were actually discouraged by all of those gun sales earlier this year, because the media made a point of reporting the booming gun market.

“Anti-gunners,” he continued, “have lost another one of their baseless arguments. Millions of Americans bought guns during the first six months of this year, many of them for the first time. Yet with all of those new guns in circulation, coupled with an increased demand for concealed carry licenses around the country, the streets have not been awash in blood, as gun banners repeatedly predict.

“Hard facts trump hot air,” Gottlieb concluded. “These people are consistently wrong about our rights. Millions of people bought guns, especially semiautomatic sport-utility rifles that gun grabbers want to ban because they say people aren’t safe with all of those guns in private hands. Well, the people disagree, and so does the data.”

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nations oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control. SAF has previously funded successful firearms-related suits against the cities of Los Angeles; New Haven, CT; and San Francisco on behalf of American gun owners, a lawsuit against the cities suing gun makers and an amicus brief and fund for the Emerson case holding the Second Amendment as an individual right.

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Murder Down Gun Sales Up – Proof That Guns Don’t Cause Crime

National Rifle Association

New York, NY - -(AmmoLand.com)- In another transparent attempt to undercut the Second Amendment fresh on the heels of his hidden-camera attack on gun shows, Michael Bloomberg’s anti-gun group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has alleged that the terrorist attack resulting in multiple murders that took place on Ft. Hood recently could have been prevented by changes in federal gun laws.

In an ad in the Washington Post on Monday, Bloomberg’s group claimed that the Ft. Hood terror suspect’s “gun purchase could have been key to the FBI’s investigation into his association with terrorists.”

Incredible
It has already been reported that before the suspect purchased the gun allegedly used in the murders, the FBI knew that between December 2008 and June 2009, he had sent 16 emails to a radical Islamic cleric based suspected of having ties to al-Qaeda. In one, he told the cleric that he could not wait to join him in the afterlife.

Nevertheless, after reviewing the e-mails, the FBI and other federal agencies concluded that the suspect was not a threat, and it has since concluded that the crimes of which he is suspected were not part of organized terrorism.

On November 9, the FBI stated

“Major Hasan came to the attention of the FBI in December 2008 as part of an unrelated investigation being conducted by one of our Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTFs). JTTFs are FBI-led, multi-agency teams made up of FBI agents, other federal investigators, including those from the Department of Defense, and state and local law enforcement officers. . . . Investigators on the JTTF reviewed certain communications between Major Hasan and the subject of that investigation and assessed that the content of those communications was consistent with research being conducted by Major Hasan in his position as a psychiatrist at the Walter Reed Medical Center. Because the content of the communications was explainable by his research and nothing else derogatory was found, the JTTF concluded that Major Hasan was not involved in terrorist activities or terrorist planning. . . . [T]he investigation to date indicates that the alleged gunman acted alone and was not part of a broader terrorist plot.”

Bloomberg says that if the federal law requiring the FBI to purge the NICS system of records of approved gun purchasers had not been in place, the FBI would have known that Hasan had bought a gun and changed its judgment about him. But while few Americans exchange e-mails with radical clerics suspected of ties to al Qaeda, there are about 12 million NICS firearm checks annually.

To Bloomberg, apparently, buying a gun is reason enough to be suspicious.

Bloomberg also says that Congress should approve legislation introduced by, long time gun banner,  Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), to allow Americans placed on the FBI’s terror watchlist to be prohibited from buying firearms, but to deny them the right to confront their accusers and the “evidence” against them. Both concepts received a nod from the Obama Administration on November 18. During hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asked Attorney General Eric Holder whether the administration supported legislation to allow to FBI to retain NICS gun purchase records, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked Holder whether the administration supported legislation “closing” the so-called “Terror Gap.” Holder responded in the affirmative on both counts.

You would think that someone who can spend $200 million of his own money to get elected mayor of New York City three times could afford copies of the U.S. Code and the Constitution. Not only does federal law stipulate the specific grounds for denying a person the right to arms, the Fourteenth Amendment states that no one shall be deprived of liberty without due process of law.

And while he is at it, he could buy a copy of another well-known publication, Webster’s Dictionary, and look up the word “obsession.”

To see Bloomberg’s Washington Post ad, and whether your town’s mayor is allied with his group, see www.mayorsagainstillegalguns.org/downloads/pdf/terror_gap_ad.pdf.

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.

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Mayor Bloomberg Uses Ft. Hood Terrorist Attack To Push Gun Control

National Shooting Sports Foundation

NEWTOWN, Conn. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Background checks on the sale of firearms were up 4.3 percent in October, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

A total of 1,233,982 checks were reported for the month, up from 1,183,279 in October 2008.

The 2009 year-to-date total for background checks is 11,403,417, an increase of 18.1 percent over the same time period last year.

NICS Background Checks October 2009

FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing either newly manufactured or used firearms from federally licensed retailers.

As such, the checks serve as a gauge of sales but do not reflect the actual number of firearms produced or sold.

The increase coincides with a rise in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturers, another key economic indicator for the firearms industry.

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.

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Background Checks On Firearm Sales Up 4.3% In October

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- The FBI’s National Instant Background Check System (NICS) hours of operation for federal firearms licensees (FFLs) will remain the same as their current hours of operation during this year’s NICS busy season.

NICS Call Centers will be available daily from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern. The only deviation to this schedule will be Nov. 27, the Friday following Thanksgiving, when the hours of operation will be 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. Eastern.

These extended operational hours will be available only to those FFLs who use the FBI Call Centers.

The NICS Section will cease operation at midnight on Christmas Eve and remain closed on Christmas Day. The NICS will resume normal operations on Dec. 26 at 8 a.m. Eastern.

The extended busy season hours for NICS previously published referred to the extended hours of operation for the NICS computer system, which is available for FBI employees and state agencies operating as points of contact (POCs) for the NICS in order to expedite the processing of delayed transactions to provide more expeditious responses and enhanced service to customers.

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NICS Busy Season Clarification of Working Hours

NICS Back Ground Checks for October 2009

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,233,982 NICS Checks in October 2009, a 4 percent increase from the 1,183,279 reported in October 2008.

So far that is roughly 11,403,417 gun bought this year! The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time.

This latest jump in background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of keeping firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens.

This clearly shows that the Obama Administration’s OK to proceed with a United Nations Arms Trade Treaty, that could be an end run on our 2nd amendment rights, is in direct opposition to his claim that he supports the 2nd amendment.

That is like saying I support the right to free speech as long as it is censored..!

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Gun Owners Buy 1,300,000+ Guns Thumbing Their Noses at Obama Arms Trade Treaty

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) has announced hours for its busy season, which began Oct. 1 and will continue through Jan. 16.

During this time, NICS Section operational hours will be from 6 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. Eastern Time, with state point of contacts (POCs) being placed in service at 7 a.m. and out of service at 1:30 a.m. EST.

NICS call centers will maintain their normal daily operations hours of 8 a.m. to 1 a.m. EST. One day that will deviate from this schedule will be the day after Thanksgiving (Nov. 27), when NICS will come in full service at 6 a.m. EST.

This will include the call centers, state POCs and NICS Section. The NICS Section is closed Christmas Eve at midnight and all day on Christmas.

NICS operations will resume on Dec. 26 at 6 a.m. EST. The state POCs will resume at 7 a.m. and the call center at 8 a.m. EST.

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NICS Alerts Gun Retailers Of Busy Season Hours

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Newtown, CT --(AmmoLand.com)- Background checks on the sale of firearms were up 12.4 percent in September, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

A total of 1,093,230 checks were reported for the month, up from 973,003 in September 2008.

FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing either newly manufactured or used firearms from federally licensed retailers.

NICS Gun Buyer Background Checks September 2009

As such, the checks serve as a gauge of sales but do not reflect the actual number of firearms produced or sold.

The increase coincides with a rise in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturers, another key economic indicator for the firearms industry.

About:
Formed in 1961, 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.

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Firearm Sales Background Checks Up 12.4% In September

NICS Gun Buyer Background Checks Aug 2009

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Newtown, CT --(AmmoLand.com)- Background checks on the sale of firearms were up 12.3 percent in August, according to data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS).

A total of 1,074,757 checks were reported for the month, up from 956,872 in August 2008. FBI background checks are required under federal law for all individuals purchasing either newly manufactured or used firearms from federally licensed retailers.

As such, the checks serve as a gauge of sales but do not reflect the actual number of firearms produced or sold.

The increase coincides with a rise in excise taxes reported by firearms and ammunition manufacturers, another key economic indicator for the firearms industry.

About:
Formed in 1961, 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.

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Firearm Sales Background Checks Up 12% in August

Total NICS Background Checks Report

Federal Bureau of Investigation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 1,074,757 checks in August 2009, a 12.3 percent increase from the 956,872 reported in August 2008.

So far that is roughly 9,076,205 gun bought this year! The total is probably more as NICS background checks may cover the purchase of more than one gun at a time.

This latest jump in background checks show that Americans are solidly in-favor of keeping firearms in the hands of law abiding citizens and clearly shows that proponents claiming the USA wants more gun control are blatantly wrong.

Gun Owners Say No to Gun Conrtol with their Wallets
The increased trend of Americans buying firearms at a record pace was once thought to be a one time fluke caused by fears of the new Obama administration expressed lust for more gun control. But now 10 months in and the wrongly named “fear buying” has now become the norm as law abiding US citizen exercise their constitutional right to keep and bear firearms by the millions every month with no sign of slowing down.

The bulk of the buying has been concentrated on the following types of guns or calibers:

• Semi Auto Handguns
• Revolvers
• Ar15s and all variants of the Black Rifle
• .50 Caliber

1.17 Guns for Each Person
Conservative estimates of legally owned guns in the USA put the number at 355,029,250 million guns in the USA. That is 1.17 guns for everyone in the USA and if you listen to the liberal press they are all assault weapons. God bless anyone who tries to invade the USA…

Crime Rates Falling
The most stunning in all of this is that we have not seen an increase in crime, murder rates have fallen across most of the USA and Americans have shown that they can be trusted with firearms ownership.  This is directly in contrast to what the national media and gun control supporters would have us believe.

Gun owners you are clearly the majority!

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1,000,000+ Guns Added to American Homes in August

BATFE

CHARLOTTE, N.C. –-(AmmoLand.com)- Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Charlotte Field Division, Zebedee T. Graham, and U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, Anna Mills Wagoner, today announced the federal indictment of nine defendants for violations of the federal firearms and conspiracy laws.

The federal indictment alleges that the defendants engaged in a personal property and firearms theft ring throughout the Middle District of North Carolina, including the counties of Stanly, Cabarrus, Randolph, Rowan and Moore. The indictment further alleges that the defendants used physical surveillance to identify easy home targets, and recruited and caused to be recruited other members into the organization. These recruits were subsequently included in the indictment under the conspiracy charges. The indictment also states that many of the co-conspirators have prior felony convictions, which under federal law prohibits those individuals from possessing a firearm.

Graham said, “As you can see from the number of investigative agencies involved, this investigation was unprecedented in the level of investigative cooperation. Over 10 different enforcement agencies conducted the investigation over a significantly large geographical area involving many jurisdictions. We came together with one goal in mind, and that was to re-instill a sense of safety and security to the members of our respective communities.”

“The impact of a home burglary on the victims’ sense of security is long lasting and painful,” said Wagoner. “We want those who would invade the sanctity of people’s homes to know that the law enforcement community — local, state and federal — will take all reasonable steps to bring the violators to justice.”

An indictment only represents charges against an individual and all defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

ATF is the primary agency responsible for enforcing the federal firearms laws. For more information on ATF’s programs please visit the web site at www.atf.gov.

About:
ATF – Is a unique law enforcement agency in the United States Department of Justice that protects our communities from violent criminals, criminal organizations, the illegal use and trafficking of firearms, the illegal use and storage of explosives, acts of arson and bombings, acts of terrorism, and the illegal diversion of alcohol and tobacco products.

We partner with communities, industries, law enforcement and public safety agencies to safeguard the public we serve through information sharing, training, research, and use of technology.

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Federal Grand Jury Indicts Nine For Firearms Violations

Total NICS Background Checks Report

National Shooting Sports Foundation

Washington, DC --(AmmoLand.com)- Data released by the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) reported 966,162 checks in July 2009, an 8.4 percent increase from the 891,224 reported in July 2008.

This latest jump in background checks follows the release of the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax Collection Report by the Department of the Treasury just two weeks ago.

The report noted that firearm and ammunition manufacturers paid more than $109.8 million in the first calendar quarter of 2009, up 43 percent over the same period in 2008.

About:
NSSF, founded in 1961, is the trade association for the firearms, ammunition and recreational shooting sports industry. It promotes the safe ownership and responsible use of products its members make and sell. For more information, visit www.nssf.org

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Close to a Million Guns Bought By Honest Americans In July 2009

The Georgia Chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy Associates (FBINAA) recently presented the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Section with the Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award. The annual award, presented at the FBINAA’s summer conference in July, recognizes agencies that excel in support of the FBINAA Georgia Chapter.

Georgia Department of Natural Resources

SOCIAL CIRCLE, Ga. --(AmmoLand.com)- The Georgia Chapter of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s National Academy Associates (FBINAA) recently presented the Georgia Department of Natural Resources’ Law Enforcement Section with the Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award. The annual award, presented at the FBINAA’s summer conference in July, recognizes agencies that excel in support of the FBINAA Georgia Chapter.

As leaders in natural resources law enforcement, Georgia DNR’s Law Enforcement personnel who have graduated from the FBI National Academy serve as active members of the FBINAA’s Georgia Chapter.

“The involvement our supervisory officers have with the Georgia Chapter of the FBINAA has undoubtedly positively affected our agency and its operations,” said Lt. Col. Jeff Weaver of the Georgia DNR Law Enforcement and graduate of the 226th session. “We are honored to receive this recognition.”

Capt. Eddie Henderson of the Georgia DNR and graduate of the 211th session currently serves on the executive board for the Georgia Chapter of the FBINAA as First Vice President. Department personnel also have served on membership, finance and conference committees and provided assistance for the chapter’s Web site redesign initiative.

Georgia DNR officers have benefited from the education and training received from the National Academy. Over the years, practices learned through the academy have been incorporated into agency procedures.

Some examples include the requirement of supervisory training for front line supervisors, the offer of risk management training and workplace issue management to staff and command officers and the opportunity for ethics and professionalism training.

The year 2011 will mark a century of service to the state of Georgia by the DNR’s Law Enforcement agency. As the first and longest-serving state law enforcement agency, DNR is committed to understanding and meeting the law enforcement needs of Georgia’s citizens.

Continued involvement with the FBINAA and the training offered will aid DNR in its efforts to remain at the forefront of the state’s law enforcement leadership.

The Phyllis Goodwin Agency of the Year Award was named after Goodwin, the FBINAA police training tech who effectively served members of the academy for nearly 38 years.

For more information about the Georgia Chapter of the academy, visit www.gafbinaa.org .

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Georgia DNR Law Enforcement Deemed Top Agency By FBI National Academy

Federal Bureau of Investigation

RALEIGH, NC — -(AmmoLand.com)- Seven individuals have been charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and conspiring to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad, David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division; George E.B. Holding, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina; and Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Charlotte Field Division, announced today.

On Wednesday, July 22, 2009, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of North Carolina returned a sealed seven-count indictment against the following defendants:

* Daniel Patrick Boyd, 39, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
* Hysen Sherifi, 24, a native of Kosovo and a U.S. legal permanent resident located in North Carolina
* Anes Subasic, 33, a naturalized U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
* Zakariya Boyd, 20, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
* Dylan Boyd, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
* Mohammad Omar Aly Hassan, 22, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina
* Ziyad Yaghi, 21, a U.S. citizen and resident of North Carolina

All the defendants are charged with conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists, as well as conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim and injure persons abroad. In addition, Daniel Boyd, Hysen Sherifi and Zakariya Boyd are each charged with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Daniel Boyd and Dylan Boyd are also each charged with selling a firearm to a convicted felon. Finally, Daniel Boyd is also charged with receiving a firearm through interstate commerce and two counts of making false statements in a terrorism investigation.

The defendants were arrested at various locations this morning by the FBI and other law enforcement agencies. They made their initial appearances today in federal court in Raleigh, N.C. At that time, the indictment was unsealed.

“The indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd is a veteran of terrorist training camps in Pakistan and Afghanistan who, over the past three years, has conspired with others in this country to recruit and help young men travel overseas in order to kill. Given the weapons allegedly involved in this conspiracy and the seriousness of the charges, the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors who were able to bring about this case and safely remove these defendants from our streets deserve special thanks,” said David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division.

“These charges hammer home the point that terrorists and their supporters are not confined to the remote regions of some far away land but can grow and fester right here at home. Terrorists and their supporters are relentless and constant in their efforts to hurt and kill innocent people across the globe. We must be equally relentless and constant in our efforts to stop them,” said U.S. Attorney George E.B. Holding.

“The threat that extremists and radicals pose to America and our allies has not dulled or gone away. These arrests today show there are people living among us, in our communities in North Carolina and around the U.S., that are honing their skills to carry out acts of murder and mayhem. Their ultimate goal is to wage war on freedom and democracy. The FBI and our law enforcement partners are doing all we can to stop them from thriving and successfully attacking again,” said Owen D. Harris, Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Division of the FBI. “We will remain vigilant, so must the public. If you see or hear something—act—call your local police department or the FBI. September 11th is not a vague memory for us, nor should it be for anyone.”

“The cooperation between federal, state and local authorities throughout this investigation has been outstanding. It is only with our ongoing law enforcement partnership through the Joint Terrorism Task Force in conjunction with North Carolina’s fusion center, ISAAC, that we are able to ensure public safety from these terrorist threats,” said North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation Director Robin P. Pendergraft

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The Conspiracy
According to the indictment, during the period from 1989 through 1992, Daniel Boyd traveled to Pakistan and Afghanistan where he received military-style training in terrorist training camps for the purpose of engaging in violent jihad. Following this training, he allegedly fought in Afghanistan.

From roughly November 2006 through at least July 2009, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd and the other defendants conspired to provide material support and resources to terrorists, including currency, training, transportation, and personnel. The defendants also conspired to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad during this period. The object of the conspiracy, according to the indictment, was to advance violent jihad, including supporting and participating in terrorist activities abroad and committing acts of murder, kidnapping, or maiming persons abroad.

The indictment alleges that, as part of the conspiracy, the defendants prepared themselves to engage in violent jihad and were willing to die as martyrs. They also allegedly offered training in weapons and financing, and helped arrange overseas travel and contacts so others could wage violent jihad overseas.

As part of the conspiracy, the indictment further alleges that the defendants raised money to support training efforts, disguised the destination of such monies from the donors, and obtained assault weapons to develop skills with the weapons. Some defendants also allegedly radicalized others to believe that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation.

Recruitment and Travels
Among other acts, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd traveled to Gaza in March 2006 and attempted to enter Palestine in order to introduce his son to individuals who also believed that violent jihad was a personal religious obligation. Later, in October 2006, defendant Ziyad Yaghi allegedly departed the United States for Jordan to engage in violent jihad.

In June 2007, Daniel Boyd and several other defendants departed the United States for Israel in an effort to engage in violent jihad, but ultimately returned to the United States after failing in their efforts. According to the indictment, after his return to the United States, Daniel Boyd made false statements twice to federal officials about who he had planned to meet on his trip to Israel.

In February 2008, Daniel Boyd allegedly solicited money to fund the travel of additional individuals overseas to engage in violent jihad and in March 2008, discussed with Anes Subasic preparations to send two individuals abroad for this purpose. He allegedly accepted $500 in cash from defendant Hysen Sherifi to be used to help fund jihad overseas and later showed Sherifi how to operate an AK-47 assault weapon.

In July 2008, Sharifi allegedly departed the United States for Kosovo to engage in violent jihad. According to the indictment, Sharifi later returned to North Carolina in April 2009, for the purpose of soliciting funds and personnel to support the mujihadeen.

Weapons and Training
The indictment also alleges that Daniel Boyd obtained a variety of weapons in furtherance of the conspiracy to murder persons overseas and provide material support to terrorists. These included a Bushmaster M4A3 rifle that Boyd allegedly received illegally via interstate commerce in 2006, as well as an ETA M16 V System C-MAG that he purchased in 2006. In 2007, he allegedly purchased a Ruger mini 14 long gun.

During 2008, the indictment alleges that Boyd purchased a Mossburg 100 ATR .270 rifle, a Llama Camanche III .357 revolver, a Century Arms AK Sporter 7.62 X 39 rifle and a Ruger mini 30 7.62 X 39 rifle. During 2009, Boyd allegedly purchased a Ishmash SAGA .308 rifle, a Century Arms Polish Tantal 5.45 X 39 rifle, a Century Arms C91 rifle .308, a Century Arms M70B1 7.62 X 34 rifle, a Ruger mini 14 5.56 rifle, and a Smith & Wesson MP15 .223 rifle.

The indictment further alleges that in February 2009, Daniel Boyd and his son, Dylan Boyd, knowingly sold a Beretta 9 mm handgun and ammunition to a convicted felon. In addition, the indictment alleges that in June 2009, Daniel Boyd and his son, Zakariya Boyd, used firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence, specifically conspiracy to murder.

Finally, the indictment alleges that Daniel Boyd and several of the defendants practiced military tactics and the use of weapons on private property in Caswell County, N.C., in June and July 2009.

Each of the defendants faces potential life imprisonment if convicted of conspiracy to murder, kidnap, maim, and injure persons abroad. In addition, conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists carries a maximum 15-year sentence. The charges of receiving a firearm through interstate commerce and selling a firearm to a convicted felon each carry a maximum 10-year sentence. Making false statements in a terrorism investigation carries a maximum eight-year sentence, while possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence carries a consecutive five-year sentence.

This investigation is being conducted by the Raleigh Joint Terrorism Task Force of the Charlotte Division of the FBI and NCISAAC, the North Carolina Information Sharing and Analysis Center.

The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Barbara D. Kocher and Jason Cowley of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, and Trial Attorney Jason Kellhofer, of the Counterterrorism Section in the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations. Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

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Seven Charged with Terrorism & Firearms Violations in North Carolina