Ammo Frenzy

I found this over on the National Shooting Sports Foundation's (NSSF) web site. Somehow I missed it in my weekly edition of the NSSF Bullet Points. Lou Dobbs is about the only CNN personality that does pro-Second Amendment segments on his program and in my opinion about the only program worth watching on CNN. If you are having problems finding ammo in your favorite caliber, maybe you should consider reloading. VSSA is hosting Reloading Clinics this fall. While space is limited in each class, we still have some slots available. Get more info here.

Lou Dobbs Stands Up for Gun Owners Again

Last night during coverage of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Drugs hearing, Lou Dobbs came to the defense of America's law abiding gun owners, questioning Senators Feinstein and Durbin's assertion (that he said were based on Brookings Institute numbers) that 2000 guns are smuggled into Mexico every day. That would be 780,000 firearms a year!!! This exchange took place between Dobbs and reporter Casey Wian:

Dobbs: Yeah, I'd like to see the audit on all of that nonsense. Durbin, with all due respect to the senator, to suggest that the reason for the violence, as he put it, American firearms, is he aware of the five principal drug cartels at war with each other, the outright law of those. What in the world is a chairman of a committee doing speaking so irresponsibly? That's absolutely -- I find it astonishing. Where do we go from here with that committee?

Wian: Well, he seems to be echoing the statements of the Obama administration. Eric Holder said that, you know, he wanted to resume the assault weapons ban, to help Mexico allegedly help Mexico or theoretically help Mexico curtail this drug cartel violence. As many other senators on that committee today pointed out, if some of those guns weren't coming from the United States, Mexican drug cartels would get them from either the Mexican army or from other nations, Lou.

Dobbs: I don't know if Senator Durbin has ever been to northern Mexico, but I'd sure like to go there with him. I'd like to show him around. And, you know what else I'd like to do? I just like to suggest, perhaps, to the senator that he think about this, that his -- his affinity with the Obama administration and the efforts of the president and the attorney general Eric Holder, to try to roll back our second amendment rights, will be, by the fiercest, I guarantee you, the most substantive resistance in the history of -- of politics in this, in this century so far at least. I mean it is just disgusting to hear that. I had been calling for secure borders here since September 11th. I have been calling for secure ports since September 11th. And now, this man, Senator Durbin has the effrontery, talking about securing the borders and winning the war on drugs because he finds it convenient to the interest of the president of Mexico. There may be a conflated interest shared. I have to say it is astonishing the man has no sense of context and what he is saying.

BATFE's William Hoover told the subcommittee the numbers are more in the hundreds. In 2007 working with the Mexican government, BATFE traced 6561 firearms. In 2008 BATFE traced 10,977 and to date in 2009, they are already approaching the 10,000 number. Even if we use this year's number as a baseline, that is still a lot less than the 780,000 number based on the Brookings Institute.

Another Example of Why ATF is Badly in Need of Reform

I've posted previously about the ATF harassment of Ryan Horsley of Red's Trading Post - how ATF is coming in on an almost weekly basis trying to close down Red's by inspecting the gun shop's books looking for the slightest paperwork mistake. Horsely has finally gotten his day in court. The judge has yet to issue a verdict.

One has to wonder if ATF is on a mission to not only shut down gun shops, but to end the private ownership of firearms as well. One more example of ATF harassment of private gun owners is this story which was part of CNN's Lou Dobb's program on Thursday. The report is about the conviction of Wisconsin gun owner and honorably discharged Army veteran, David Olofson, who was convicted in federal court of "transferring a machine gun," after his 20-year-old AR-15 rifle malfunctioned on a shooting range. That malfunction caused the rifle to fire multiple rounds with one pull of the trigger. Now the father of three is a convicted felon facing prison time. On Friday, Dobbs reported part two of Olofson's ordeal and the questionable tactics used by ATF to push the case. In short, in this particular case, ATF lived up to the image of a rogue agency that Congressmen John Dingell described in 1982.

There are two bills than need the support of gun owners that would bring much needed reform to ATF, HR 4900 and HR 1791. HR 1791 - the Fairness in Firearm Testing Act - would direct the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to make a video recording of the entire process of its examination and testing of an item for the purpose of determining whether the item is a firearm (and if so, the type of firearm) or ammunition. In addition, it bars the Bureau from editing or erasing any such recording.

HR 4900 revises the civil penalties accessed to gun dealers for violations of firearms law and the procedures for assessing such penalties, revises the definition of "willfully" for purposes of firearms violations and standards for criminal violations of firearms record keeping requirements, and requires the Attorney General to: (1) make preliminary determinations on firearms license applications and notify applicants in writing of a proposed denial; and (2) establish guidelines for Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) inspections, examinations, or investigations of possible firearms violations. The bill also prohibits ATF from disclosing information on firearms purchasers other than to a court, law enforcement agency, or prosecutor.

These are two very needed reforms and gun owners are urged to contact their congressman and ask them to support and co-sponsor the bills if they have not already done so.