Posted on 05/29/2008 9:52:39 AM PDT by frankiep
WEAPONS OF CHOICE 30 months in jail for broken gun Judge hands down penalty for misfire from 20-year-old rifle
A federal judge has ordered a 30-month prison sentence for a man whose rifle misfired, letting loose three shots at a firing range, prompting 2nd Amendment supporters to warn their constituents how easily they, too, can become a "gun felon."
"It didn't matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier or sear, that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that model had even been recalled a few years back," said a commentary in Guns Magazine on the case against David R. Olofson, of Berlin, Wis.
"It didn't matter the government had repeatedly failed to replicate automatic fire until they replaced the ammunition with a softer primer type. It didn't even matter that the prosecution admitted it was not important to prove the gun would do it again if the test were conducted today," the magazine said. "What mattered was the government's position that none of the above was relevant because '[T]here's no indication it makes any difference under the statute. If you pull the trigger once and it fires more than one round, no matter what the cause it's a machine gun.'
"No matter what the cause.
(Excerpt) Read more at worldnetdaily.com ...
Let's review......AT A FIRING RANGE.
I guess I need to turn myself in then cause I shoot my Sigs & kimber pistols as fast as I can pull the trigger.
Look - if the feds ever arrest you for something, just say you are illegal.
You will be released immediately and 15 organizations will rush in to give you aid and money.
Bang
How long until “bump firing” is illigal?
I have read that this particular rifle was subject to a recall because of the propensity to slam fire but he never got the notice because he wasn’t the original owner. The case is being appealed.
And anti-gunners wonder why we are so paranoid.
Who was the kind person at the range who turned him in?
“It didn’t matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier or sear, that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that model had even been recalled a few years back,” said a commentary in Guns Magazine on the case against David R. Olofson, of Berlin, Wis. “It didn’t matter the government had repeatedly failed to replicate automatic fire until they replaced the ammunition with a softer primer type.”
This is not new as it’s been this way for 25 years. The ATF is a rogue agency. If you think it’s bad now, wait until the RATS have 60 seats in the senate.
I’ve found that if I mistakenly over-tighten the recoil springs on my Rem 597 .22LR, it will put out two rounds at a time. I hope BATF doesn’t monitor these threads.
Hey, maybe we'll be on the same cell block? Can I have your pudding?
And on further review - MISFIRED.
mis·fire (ms-fr)
intr.v. mis·fired, mis·fir·ing, mis·fires
2. To fail to discharge. Used of a firearm.
letting loose three shots at a firing range.
Forty years ago I owned a Winchester Model 100 semi-auto rifle. The trigger pull was atrocious.
The local gunsmith said perhaps he could help it, but only so much.
After the second trip to the gunsmith the rifle let loose 2 shots then jammed. ( 5 shot magazine )
After the third trip the rifle had a so/so trigger pull but was semi-auto.
40 years later is the one time event of the unintentional results of the modified rife is still a crime?
Defund the ATF.
So, if someone had a cap-and-ball revolver which mis-fired, causing two or more chambers to discharge with one trigger pull, that cap-and-ball revolver would be classified as a "machine gun"?
Our cell is getting crowded.
The answer is YES. In fact, the BATF has ruled that tying a string across the 2 triggers of a double-barrelled shotgun converts it to a machine gun, since one pull on the trigger fires two shots! So, if you own such a shotgun, do NOT possess any string or wire in your home with it, OR you WILL be charged with constructive ownership of a machine gun!
I call BS on this whole deal. How could this man have possibly been convicted? A witness was actually watching him fire the weapon and testified in court that he squeezed the trigger once and not 3 times?
If the NRA doesn’t support this guy and get this case to the supreme court then they are missing a great opportunity.
LOL
Slightly off topic but here goes.
What is the status of the open bolt semi MAC 10 and Mac 11s that are floating around out there?
The government is harassing innocent gun owners who do not break the law. Their purpose is to discourage legal gun ownership, so that only criminals will have guns.
BS!
This is why I don’t see an Obama presidency as a reason to get depressed. IT CAN”T GET MUCH WORSE than it is under Bush, the pseudo-Republican.
“Who was the kind person at the range who turned him in”?
If it were me, you better believe that I would make it my life’s work to find out.
I would begin with a public request to boycott the range for cause, the owner of the range, the management and anyone else I could think of to boycott.
Judge Charles Clevert has served as a federal district judge in the eastern district of Wisconsin since 1996. Before that, he served for eighteen years as a bankruptcy judge, and before that as an assistant district attorney and assistant U.S. Attorney. He has chaired the American Bar Association’s National Conference of Federal Trial Judges and served on the board of the American Judicature Society, and has been active with the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Federal Judicial Center. Judge Clevert was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton.
Some jealous soul with wet Jockey shorts.
From what I read about this, the guy was active in supplying 80% AR15 receivers (supposedly legal) and helping others machine them (a gray area). I think that that was the real reason the BATF targeted him.
He supposedly loaned the this gun to a another guy and warned him that it could go full auto if the selector was pushed to a certain position. They guy did it and a law enforcement officer who witnessed it moved in. The guy turned in the person who loaned the gun to him and testified to this at the trial.
If the guy was machining 80% receivers, he should have known how what to do to have it fire semi-auto instead of full-auto. Assuming that it was wear instead of deliberate machining, I don’t know how using “soft primers” could make a difference. This is a gas operated gun, not a primer-movement-actuated one (there were a few pre-WWII guns that had this, but they were not very successful). I have read some of the legal pleadings on both sides and I still think there is a lot of stuff we still do NOT know from EITHER side.
This reminds me that Calvary Arms, KT Ordnance, and Shade Tree Armory all have sold 80% receivers and all have been raided by the BATF and shut down. I think that is what is known as a clue.
Paging Henry Bowman
Henry, where the heck are you?
Whose side are you on?
BATF&E didn't even file a case.
I think the range had a policy of no automatic firearms. That coupled with a rat could get you a lot of time.
I am looking for facts to make this information useful to me . I lean towards libertarianism to the point many think me an anarchist . I believe all gun laws such as the prohibition against automatic weapons violate the Second Amendment and substantive due process . Do you have an answer to my question or are you just looking for someone to attack ?
***Did Mr. Kiernicki testify that Mr.Olofson knew of the weapon’s propensity to fire multiple times with a single trigger manipulation ?***
This makes it look like you’re all for the ATF expanding and prosecuting firearms owners because their rifle misfired. It doesn’t have a set timeline for cleanings, nor can it tell you “I’m too gummed up to fire reliably, clean me.”
If you’re not, then I’m sorry I miscalculated.
Defund Disband the ATF.
It makes you at least a Terrorist.
The Dishonorable “Judge” Charles Prevert sounds like Affirmative Action gone wild.
Should have stayed ijn Bankruptcy Court, since he is bankrupt in the brains department.
With a Democrat President and Congress we WILL get the Fairness Doctrine resurrected as LAW rather than as mere regulatory power as before. And I strongly suspect it will be applied to the Internet. No more FR unless Jim Robinson is willing to move offshore.
Can I have your pudding?
What does that mean in jail-speak?
What does that mean in jail-speak?
Nothing as far as I know. At dinner......I just want an extra pudding.
A stock factory AR15 was modified with an M16 selector at the very least, and quite likely other parts changed or modified. This is a federal crime.
This is an issue that NOBODY concerned about this case will acknowledge or admit to. Instead, everyone goes into Hyper Rant Mode about Second Amendment issues and JBT's.
The sad fact is, he illegally modified an AR15 and loaned it out to some nimrod who didn't have enough sense to leave that third selector position alone at a public range.
I think by then it will be time for another “tea party”.
Very impressive. But you’re missing the point.
Why exactly is this a crime? On what basis does the BATF have the right to circumvent the Constitutionally protected right to bear arms in order to prosecute people?
Defend this all you want, but the fact remains that the BATF is an unConstitutional, out of control agency that really has no other reason for existence other than to hassle and prosecute citizens who are harming no one.
Anyone seen any comments from the NRA or GOA, JPFO etc on this case ? Their silence is deafening.
What say they ?
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