Senate Rejects Efforts to Protect Gun Records from ATF
Friday, 27 May 2011 17:23
The Senate, by an overwhelming 85-10 vote, tabled an amendment by Senator Rand Paul which would have protected 4473’s and other gun records from blanket searches by the ATF under the PATRIOT Act.
A mere 24 hours earlier, Democratic Leader Harry Reid went through parliamentary convolutions in order to prevent a vote on the Paul 4473 amendment, fearing that a vote on his language would have devastating implications for his Democrats running for reelection.
But Reid had some important allies in the Republican leadership. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his second-in-command, retiring Senator Jon Kyl (R-AZ), used their “Republican whip” apparatus to mischaracterize the Paul amendment and try to force Republicans to vote against it by spreading misinformation and lies.
For instance, they claimed that had the FBI been investigating the 2009 Fort Hood shooter, and the Paul amendment had been in effect, authorities would not have had the necessary tools under the Patriot Act to conduct an investigation.
But the terrorism legislation was fully in force at the time of the Fort Hood shooting, and did nothing to prevent it! The answer to every government inadequacy is not simply to grant it more power.
Republican leaders also claimed that there was no evidence that the PATRIOT Act has been abused on a “widespread” basis, either in general or with respect to the Second Amendment.
But given that all investigations are SECRET and it is a crime to disclose them, it is hypocritical to argue that we don’t know all the abuses.
Here’s what we do know: First, we know of thousands of illegal phone records which were procured by the FBI.
Second, the Obama administration is pushing to illegally seize 4473-type information through its illegal regulations on multiple semi-auto sales in the Southwest –- a demand which is being made under the rubric of “national security.” This effort to register gun sales along the border just underscores how easily the ATF could use the excuse of “terrorism” to register gun sales across the entire country.
Opponents of the Paul amendment claimed that gun owners are protected under the PATRIOT Act, because a request for gun records must be relevant to a terrorism investigation and must first be approved by the Director of the FBI or a select few high-ranking officials.
But this argument does not address the fact that the standard of “relevance” is a low standard ripe for abuse, and it is not much of an assurance at all when you have an administration (like Obama’s) that is hostile to the Second Amendment.
Reid had one additional ally: the National Rifle Association. In the end, the NRA helped both Democrat and Republican leaders by not taking an “official position” on the bill.
Sen. Rand Paul Seeks Gun Exemption in so-called Patriot Act Legislation
Monday, 23 May 2011 18:54
The House and Senate Republican and Democratic leadership have reached a “deal” on extending three expiring provisions of post-9/11 legislation for four years. Following a procedural vote on Monday night, the real battle begins on the bill.
Gun Owners of America worked with Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on legislation to exempt 4473’s (the form all buyers fill out when a gun is purchased from a licensed dealer) from that statute’s broad provisions. Sen. Paul will offer that amendment this week, assuming Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is not able to block the amendment from being offered.
Here’s a major concern: Assume the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) goes to the “secret court” (the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or “FISA” court) and argues, without anyone else in the room, that ALL 4473’s should be seized as “business records” because they are relevant to a terrorism investigation.
Can it do that? It’s certainly a big enough danger to warrant our concern and that of Sen. Paul.
In 1986, Congress enacted the McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act to limit BATFE access to 4473’s and other gun records. Such records can only be viewed as part of a “bona fide criminal investigation,” in connection with a trace, or pursuant to an annual inspection.
But under McClure-Volkmer, the BATFE clearly could not seize every 4473 in the country because of a generalized terrorism investigation.
The Paul amendment would make it clear that McClure-Volkmer is still applicable law and was not overturned by 9/11 legislation.
ACTION: Contact your two Senators. Ask them to support the Paul amendment and to oppose any effort to invoke cloture (shut off debate) on the bill in order to make the Paul amendment out of order.
ATF Shotgun Study – What is “sporting purpose” ?
Vote Coming on Radical Left-Wing Ideologue to Federal Bench
Vote May Come as Early as Wednesday
Any doubt that President Obama is more anti-Second Amendment than perhaps any president in history can be laid to rest in the light of the characters he has nominated to the federal judiciary.
Obama’s latest nominee for a U.S. District Court post is John McConnell, a Providence, Rhode Island, trial lawyer. In terms of being an activist for the far left, McConnell is right in line with Obama’s Supreme Court picks—Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
It comes as no surprise that leading gun control proponents in the Senate support McConnell: he has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to liberal, anti-gun candidates over the years, including Obama and Rhode Island’s two senators.
In fact, it appears that McConnell’s chief qualifications for this post are his generous contributions to liberal candidates and his long relationship with former Rhode Island attorney general and current Senator, Sheldon Whitehouse.
However, even in a world where political backers are often selected to fill openings for judgeships and other federal jobs, the size of McConnell’s contributions sets him apart from other nominees. In 2008 alone, for example, McConnell gave over $120,000 to Democrat candidates.
He also served as treasurer of the Rhode Island Democratic State Committee, which raises the question of whether he could serve impartially on the federal bench.
McConnell’s views on the Constitution are also extremely troubling. In written questions that were part of McConnell’s confirmation hearings, Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) asked the nominee if he believed the Second Amendment and the Bill of Rights protected fundamental rights. McConnell responded evasively and refused to declare what he considered to be fundamental, individual liberties.
Of course, McConnell repeatedly insisted that he would be “bound by applicable Supreme Court and First Circuit precedent” on Second Amendment issues. But nothing in the Heller and McDonald decisions necessarily preclude an anti-gun ideologue from ruling that almost any gun law short of a total ban on firearms—including gun owner registration, purchasing limits, waiting periods, private sale background checks, and more—is consistent with the Constitution.
ACTION: Click here to read the rest of the article and send a prewritten email to urge your Senators to vote “NO” on any votes related to John McConnell’s nomination.
“Project Gunrunner” scandal
Investigations Into BATFE Accelerate
Friday, March 25, 2011
As the BATFE faces an increasing array of questions about its activities in the “Fast and Furious” and “Project Gunrunner” programs, the scandal has taken its first political casualty and President Obama has finally commented directly on these problems.
On March 20, the U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, Carlos Pascual, resigned amid increasing criticisms from Mexican government officials. It was reported that the “Gun Runner” scandal was the last straw for President Felipe Calderon, who has said publicly that he does not trust Pascual.
When questioned by the media during his recent tour of South and Central America, President Obama claimed that neither he nor Attorney General Eric Holder had approved the investigations that led to hundreds and possibly thousands of firearms ending up in the hands of Mexican criminal cartels. Obama said, “There may be a situation here which [sic] a serious mistake was made” and went on to promise to find out and to hold those responsible accountable.
Congress is not waiting on the President, however, and there are now plans for investigations and hearings by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Idaho), along with other members of the committee, urged Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) to conduct hearings, which Issa agreed to do. Chairman Issa has contacted BATFE Deputy Director Kenneth Melson and demanded his agency provide details about both “Fast and Furious” and “Project Gunrunner.” Please click here to read that letter.
In addition, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who has been a leading critic of these BATFE investigations, has again called for more answers, saying his requests for more information have been “stonewalled” by the Obama Administration. Grassley, ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is now expanding his inquiries to include requests for information from Customs and Border Protection regarding gun trafficking in New Mexico. “No longer can this administration stand idly by and answer every question by saying that the Justice Department Inspector General is investigating,” Grassley wrote. “There is too much at stake.” Please click here to read Sen. Grassley’s release dated March 24th and to find links to his letters to administration officials.
As the BATFE continues to petition for the authority to collect more data on sales of firearms, the growing scandal that has resulted from these two investigative programs raises serious questions about BATFE’s procedures and its ability to effectively carry out its duties. The NRA fully supports the actions of Chairman Issa, Rep. Labrador and members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to fully uncover the extent of the mistakes and the damage caused by BATFE’s mismanagement of these investigations.
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 BATFE.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives adopted an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-MT) and Dan Boren (D-OK) that prohibits the use of federal funds for a new and unauthorized multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the BATFE. The measure passed the chamber (277-149) with broad bipartisan support.
This week, the NRA-ILA sent a letter to House Speaker John Boehner asking Congress to preserve the Boren-Rehberg amendment in the Continuing Resolution relating to federal government funding. Please click here to read the letter.
Copyright 2011, National Rifle Association of America, Institute for Legislative Action.
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Schumer Bill Includes Steps Toward Federal Gun Registration
Schumer Bill Includes Steps Toward
Federal Gun Registration
Recently, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) — who in the early 1990s was the House sponsor of the Brady Act and the federal “assault weapons” and “large” magazine ban of 1994-2004, and the ill-fated, everything-but-the-kitchen-sink “Brady II” bill — introduced S. 436, the multi-faceted “Fix Gun Checks Act of 2011.” Its simplistic and misleading title aside, this bill dispels any doubt about the goal gun control supporters have had in mind ever since they began harping about “closing the gun show loophole” more than a decade ago.
Schumer’s “fix” bypasses the question of gun shows altogether. In fact, the term “gun show” appears nowhere in his bill. S. 436 proposes that virtually all private transfers, regardless of location, be subject to National Instant Criminal Background Check System checks. The exceptions would be extremely narrow; in many cases, even lending someone a firearm would be subject to federal regulation.
Will Congress Lay the Groundwork for Gun Confiscation?
Wednesday, March 9, 14, 2011
Will Congress Lay the Groundwork for Gun Confiscation?
Within the next 90 days, Congress will vote on whether to reauthorize legislation to specifically allow the government potential access to millions of gun records (4473’s).
Section 215 of the PATRIOT Act, which must be reauthorized soon, is of particular concern.
This section allows the FBI to seize business records — including the 4473 forms that gun buyers fill out. The only significant caveat is that the FBI must claim that the seizure of records is needed pursuant to “an authorized investigation.”
But since a secret court is required to rubber-stamp the government’s request (unless it fails to make even a specious case), the FBI can easily abuse its authority. The Inspector General found that, between 2003 and 2006, the FBI may have violated the law over 6,000 times with respect to their authority under various provisions of the PATRIOT Act.
So just imagine that it’s your gun records that have been seized. Under such circumstances, the gun dealer is specifically prohibited, under penalty of law, from telling you that the FBI has confiscated the records of your firearms purchases. Under the PATRIOT Act, any limitations on the use of the seized records shall be at the sole discretion of the Department of Justice.
Talk about the fox guarding the hen house!
It is imperative that Congress protect gun owners from rogue government agents who would abuse their authority to register gun owners.
We’ve already seen the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives attempt to register gun owners recently when they tried to require certain gun dealers to report anyone who, within a five day period, tried to purchase two or more semi-automatic rifles (that are .22 caliber or greater and can accept a detachable magazine).
Historically, gun registration has been a prelude to gun confiscation, as documented by the Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership almost 20 years ago. They showed how several foreign governments in the Twentieth Century had used gun control — and quite often gun registration — to confiscate firearms. In each case, such confiscation was a prelude to genocide.
ACTION: Contact your two senators and insist that any language to reauthorize Section 215 also contain language to protect 4473’s from the Obama administration’s scrutiny. You can use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center at http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm to send your legislators the pre-written e-mail message below.
DNRE Begins Overhaul of License-Buying Experience with E-License Upgrades
Feb. 22, 2011
Those who buy hunting, fishing and ORV licenses and snowmobile trail permits online will soon see improvements to the E-License system (www.mdnr-elicense.com), as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment begins revamping the license-buying experience with upgrades to E-License.
The DNRE – in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget and in partnership with HP Enterprise Services – is upgrading E-License’s hardware and software to modernize the 16-year-old license-buying system. Starting with the new license year on March 1, improvements to the system’s look and feel will include easy-to-read onscreen displays, item selection layout grouped by species with expandable categories, larger font and compatibility with currently available readers for the visually impaired.
“These enhancements are part of our renewed focus on improving customer service, and will make it easier for the online user to quickly find a license or application. The behind-the-scenes upgrades will enable us to deliver licenses reliably to Michigan citizens well into the future,” said Department of Natural Resources Director-Designate Rodney Stokes. “We had the first automated license-buying system in the U.S. when we launched the current system in 1995, and now it’s time to renovate it with new technology.”
Online buying on E-License will be unavailable on the morning of Feb. 24 and will resume at noon that day. Customers will be able to buy licenses at any retail agent without interruption.
“This is an important first step in making it easier for our customers to get out and enjoy Michigan’s natural resources, and we have many more improvements planned over the next five years,” said Stokes. “Next up are improvements to license-buying hardware and software in our retail locations.”
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment is committed to the conservation, protection, management, and accessible use and enjoyment of the state’s environment, natural resources, and related economic interests for current and future generations. Learn more at www.michigan.gov/dnre.
‘You are receiving this information/survey/reminder, etc. because you voluntarily provided the DNRE with your e-mail address while purchasing your hunting/fishing license online. If you would like your name removed from this mailing list, please click here: MDNR-E-License@michigan.gov and type “remove” in the subject line’.
(The responses should come to MDNR-E-License@michigan.gov)