Free Republic

An employee of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was arrested on charges of disabling the fire alarm system and damaging property in his Metairie hotel room, according to a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office arrest report. Russell Vanderwerf, 44, of Houston was booked Dec. 1 with simple criminal damage valued at $500 to $5,000 and interfering with fire prevention after staffers at the Residence Inn, 3 Galleria Blvd., began investigating a malfunctioning fire alarm system, the arrest report said. A technician who was summoned Nov. 30 tracked the alarm problem to the second-floor room registered to Vanderwerf,...

Thank you for this informative email (JPFO alert 10/26/09). Now I have a question to ask you. Are you aware that the BATFE has for several years been aggressively offering eTrace to local law enforcement agencies? They have the agency sign a memorandum of agreement and then the agency can run traces on any firearm they wish. The catch is that the agency has to agree to run a trace on ALL CRIME GUNS. The MOU defines a CRIME GUN as: "The parties agree that a 'crime gun' is defined as "any firearm that is illegally possessed, used in a...

Gun Rights: A decade after Congress forbade the CDC from studying the health consequences of gun ownership, the National Institutes of Health has started funding such research. Will reform pry the guns from our cold, sick hands? More than a decade ago Congress, seeing it as a backdoor assault on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, voted to cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control. Such research was viewed as one-sided and based on flawed assumptions that all gun use was bad, even that which saved lives and deterred crime. --...

Gun Rights: A decade after Congress forbade the CDC from studying the health consequences of gun ownership, the National Institutes of Health has started funding such research. Will reform pry the guns from our cold, sick hands? More than a decade ago Congress, seeing it as a backdoor assault on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms, voted to cut funding for firearms research by the Centers for Disease Control. Such research was viewed as one-sided and based on flawed assumptions that all gun use was bad, even that which saved lives and deterred crime. The...

A new report from a national coalition of mayors urges President Obama to adopt dozens of reforms to help curb gun violence, including steps to crack down on problems at gun shows and the creation of a federal interstate firearms trafficking unit. The "Blueprint for Federal Action on Illegal Guns," a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post, presents 40 recommendations that "would dramatically improve law enforcement's ability to keep guns out of the hands of criminals -- and, in doing so, save innocent lives." The strategies outlined by the Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a bipartisan group of...

Gun Control: The Supreme Court agrees to decide if the Second Amendment applies to all of us, or just Washington, D.C. Why would the Founders put in the Bill of Rights something applying only to a federal enclave? In a 5-4 decision last year written by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Supreme Court overturned a draconian District of Columbia gun ban enacted 32 years ago that barred private ownership of handguns at all. Scalia wrote that an individual's right to bear arms is supported by "the historical narrative" both before and after the Second Amendment was adopted. The court ruled that...

(Corrected) Gun Control: In a case headed for the Supreme Court, a three-judge panel rules Chicago's gun ban constitutional since the 2nd Amendment doesn't apply to states and cities. High court nominee Sonia Sotomayor concurs.Those Pennsylvania townsfolk bitterly clinging to their guns may have been premature in celebrating the decision in D.C. v. Heller that the 2nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution does indeed guarantee an individual right to keep and bear arms.

WALLINGFORD - A usually quiet mobile home park was shaken Friday morning when about 15 officers from the U.S. bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and local police descended on one of their neighbor's homes with force. "They had their guns drawn and were surrounding the house," said Jennifer Monroe Lynne Boynton, of 15 Hosford Bridge Road, went to her husband's truck for coffee money at about 6 a.m. and was pushed to the driveway and handcuffed with an officer's knee in her back and a gun to her head. ATF officers surrounded her father-in-law's home at Western Sands...

The Obama administration is raising the stakes in a fight over states' rights and firearm ownership by arguing that new pro-gun laws in Montana and Tennessee are invalid. In the last few months, a grass-roots, federalist revolt against Washington, D.C. has begun to spread through states that are home to politically active gun owners. Montana and Tennessee have enacted state laws saying that federal rules do not apply to firearms manufactured entirely within the state, and similar bills are pending in Texas, Alaska, Minnesota, and South Carolina. Yet the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and Explosives now claims that...

There is now a Free Pro Second Amendment song download available online..."Don't Come For My Gun" is a message for politicians, penned by new county music duo "Wells Hollow" during the last election cycle. The author, Bee Thomas has been a Freeper since Aug of 1998, and he gets it.To receive your free download of this new song, go to www.wellshollow.com, and scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will see a link and instructions.WE HAVE NEVER BEEN UNDER SUCH AN ASSAULT ON OUR RIGHTS. Get the song and pass it along...it says it all. Lyrics...Don't Come...

Grand jury indicts London physician on grenade charge BY LINDA SATTER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Dr. Randeep Mann of Pope County was formally indicted Wednesday by a federal grand jury in Little Rock on a single charge of possessing 98 unregistered grenades. Last month, Mann, 50, was arrested by federal agents after Pope County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call from public works employees for the city of London who had stumbled upon a partially buried plastic bag in a wooded area. Inside the bag, buried 875 feet from Mann’s home, was a military canister containing the explosives, which were designed to...

Agent details arms cache found in home of doctor BY LINDA SATTER ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE Along with 98 live grenades and 110 machine guns, federal agents found $50,000 in cash, 500,000 rounds of ammunition and a gun-concealing briefcase with a trigger built into the handle [A $5 registered AOW-emphisis mine] during a search last week of the Pope County home of Dr. Randeep Mann, a federal agent testified Monday. David Oliver of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives testified at a detention hearing for Mann that continues today. U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young will decide whether Mann should...

SOF EXPOSES BATF CORRUPTION IN IRAQ Posted by SOF Editor on February 18th, 2009 3 Comments Printer-Friendly NEED A DEFINITION FOR OBAMA’S CALL FOR “RESPONSIBILITY�Amid the orderly transfer of power, our new Chief Executive has issued a call for responsibility. As is the case with most of his public statements, his meaning is not clear. However, if he means holding government officials accountable for their actions, a novel and great idea, it is something that we can all embrace. It is particularly true of those officials within agencies with a long and well documented history of abuses of entrusted...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – An accelerant was poured around the exterior of Gov. Sarah Palin's church before fire heavily damaged the building, federal investigators said Monday. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said the accelerant was poured at several locations around the church, including entrances.

How government agents set Randy Weaver up and took his family down Perhaps it was inevitable that the longest federal trial in Idaho history would be followed by the longest jury deliberation in such a trial–a 20-daymarathon that had news people joking about whether the jury planned to put in for retirement benefits. The eight-week trial of Randy Weaver and Kevin Harris grew out of such a bizarre set of circumstances that it’s not surprising it took a while for the jurors to sort things out. It probably also took them a while to come to grips with the idea...

.O. Woman Gets New Gun To Replace One Taken During Katrina By The confiscated gun has yet to be returned, says Cong. Steve Scalise and the Gun Owners of America Wednesday, October 22, 2008 A New Orleans woman whose gun was confiscated by law enforcement officers in the days after Katrina, and who was injured during the incident at her home, got a brand new 38-caliber revolver Wednesday, courtesy of the Gun Owners of America. 61-year-old Patricia Konie says getting a new gun is a great idea because now she's more afraid of police than she was before. Konie says...

FOIA request 08-1494 Ms. Graham, In your final "final response" to my Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for "the documents and final determinations of the investigations" of the four closed investigations based on complaints made by myself or on my behalf. Due to the poor punctuation in the response I can only assume the BATFE disclosure division meant to cite the following, which BATFE contends is exempt from disclosure under the Title 5, United States Code, Section 552(b): b(5) inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letter which would not be available by law to a party other than an agency...

Yeast strains used today to brew lager have two genetic ancestors, not one as previously thought. The discovery may explain the origins of the two major categories of lager today, described in the trade as the "Saaz" beers such as Pilsner and Budweiser, and the "Frohberg" beers such as Orangeboom and Heineken. It turns out that both probably owe their origins to laws in 16th-century Bavaria that banned brewing in the summer because scorching heat ruined the ale that was brewed before the emergence of lager. Forced to produce their beer in the winter, brewers accidentally created conditions favouring the...

A licensed gunmaker who has reported retaliatory attacks on his work by federal agents upset over his testimony on behalf of a man sent to prison for having a broken gun has ordered the government to return one of his projects. "You have seized company property without any cause or court order to date. The company firmly demands the return of the firearm in question," Len Savage told John Spencer and other officials at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in a letter, a copy of which was sent to WND and also later posted online at the...

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is using a vacant lot behind the Talladega Superspeedway to detonate 168 illegal weapons seized from the Alabama Free Militia. ... Members of the Alabama Free Militia claimed their weapons were for self-defense. But ATF bomb experts say faulty fuses on the homemade grenades made them highly dangerous — not only to the public, but the militia members themselves. The seven defendants in the Alabama Free Militia investigation have pled guilty to various weapons charges. Now that they’re behind bars, the ATF is able to wrap up this case with a bang....

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Acting Director Michael J. Sullivan today apologized to Congressman Bill Sali and confirmed the agency reported inconsistent versions and details of a program giving agents engraved Leatherman tool kits.

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...

Despite nearly three decades of totalitarian abuse of the American people, and supposedly stern reprimands by Congress, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives continues its violent and illegal reign of terror while its size, power, and appropriations grow. Even worse, the arrogant attitude of these jackbooted thugs has now spread to many other "law enforcement" agencies at all levels of government. A few names say it all: Ruby Ridge, Waco, Donald Scott, Donald Carlson, Accelynne Williams. Each time such travesties occur, promises of reform ring across the political landscape, only to die without an echo. Unconstitutional agencies get...

NEAR WACO - 15-years-ago Saturday, a huge fire ended a 51-day stand-off near Waco. It all took place at the Branch Davidian Compound. The standoff started with a government investigation into illegal possession of firearms and explosives. The Feds tried to enter the compound and were met with gunfire. By the end of the day, the compound was burned to the ground. 80 people were killed, including 22 children and four ATF agents.

At 5:59 a.m., SAGE telephones the Davidians, notifying them of an imminent tear-gas assault. SAGE reads a message over the loudspeaker, advising the Davidians that they are under arrest and should come out. At 6:02 a.m., two FBI combat engineering vehicles, or CEVs, begin inserting gas into the compound through spray nozzles attached to a boom. At 6:04 a.m., the Davidians start shooting, and the FBI begin deploying Bradley vehicles to insert ferret rounds through the windows. At 6:31, the HRT reports that the entire building is being gassed. At about 7 a.m., RENO and senior advisors go to the...

... The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms requires the following items, Purchase Description Determined by Line Item, to the following: LI 001, EXACT MATCH ONLY - Leatherman Micra Color: Blue - Part number 64340101K Engraved with: ATF-Asset Forfeiture AND "always think forfeiture" PLEASE REFER TO THE ATTACHMENT. NOTE: ATF MAY REQUEST A SAMPLE TO DETERMINE IF IT MEETS OUR REQUIREMENT. A picture of the item may be substituted in place of the actual sample. ***Partial Shipments are allowed. Please use the space below to explain your delivery schedule. Preferred Delivery is between November 15th-23rd, NLT November 23rd***, 2000, EA;...

WASHINGTON, July 29 - The Senate agreed to shield gun manufacturers and dealers from liability lawsuits on Friday, as Congress broke for a monthlong recess after sending President Bush energy and transportation bills that had been years in the making. Long sought by the gun lobby, the Senate measure - approved 65 to 31 - would prohibit lawsuits against gun makers and distributors for misuse of their products during the commission of a crime. Senate supporters said the plan was needed to protect the domestic firearms industry from a rash of lawsuits that threatened its economic future. "This bill is...

Since we last reported on our drive to reform federal firearm laws (“BATFE Hearings Lead to Reform Bills,” June 2006), concern about treatment of firearm dealers by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) continues to rage. In response, members of the U.S. House of Representatives--with NRA-ILA’s full support--have begun to push for new and improved reform legislation. The bill, H.R. 4900 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c110:H.R.4900.IH:), was introduced in January by Reps. Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio). It’s mainly aimed at one problem: Around the country, gun stores small and large have been threatened with closure over minor, unintentional...

At about 9:30 a.m. agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms attempt to execute arrest and search warrants against David KORESH and the Branch Davidian compound. Gunfire erupts. Four ATF agents are killed and 16 are wounded. An undetermined number of Davidians are killed and injured. Within a few hours, the FBI becomes the lead agency for resolving the standoff. Jeff JAMAR is named the on-site commander. By the afternoon, advance units of the FBI's Hostage Rescue Team (HRT) arrive, and telephone conversations are under way between KORESH, Steve SCHNEIDER, and Wayne MARTIN on one side and the...

H.R. 4900: The “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007” Representatives Steve King (R-Iowa) and Zack Space (D-Ohio), have introduced H.R. 4900 the “Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Reform and Firearms Modernization Act of 2007.” The bill would roll back unnecessary restrictions, correct errors, and codify longstanding congressional policies in the firearms arena. This bipartisan bill is a vital step to modernize and improve BATFE operations. Of highest importance, H.R. 4900 totally rewrites the system of administrative penalties for licensed dealers, manufacturers and importers of firearms. Today, for most violations, BATFE...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The National Rifle Association has hired private investigators to find hundreds of people whose firearms were seized by city police in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, according to court papers filed this week. The NRA is trying to locate gun owners for a federal lawsuit that the lobbying group filed against Mayor Ray Nagin and Police Superintendent Warren Riley over the city's seizure of firearms after the Aug. 29, 2005, hurricane. In the lawsuit, the NRA and the Second Amendment Foundation claim the city violated gun owners' constitutional right to bear arms and left them "at...

Once the Founding Fathers had broken the chains of tyranny they realized that what stood before them was a task unequaled in history. Civilizations have always risen and fallen, usually due to the enlightened or misguided paths the leaders chose. Having set the stage for a new civilization guided by the ideals of personal responsibility, honor, and freedom, the men who cast off the oppressors of their time found that creating a nation bound by laws that prohibited a government that set itself apart from the people was a task not easily accomplished. To express the difficulty they faced to...

TWIN FALLS - Nothing much happened and the complaints came too late. That's how a Boise attorney responded to a federal agency's claim that his client, the manager of a local gun store, harassed and intimidated agents until they left the store. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives exaggerated its July 17 claim that Red's Trading Post Manager Ryan Horsley intimidated its agents, wrote Horsley's attorney, Mark S. Geston, in a response filed Aug. 6 in federal court. While ATF is yanking Red's license, citing numerous violations, a federal judge has allowed the store to continue operating...

A team of inspectors from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives fled an Idaho gun shop where they were inspecting sales records when they learned their actions were being recorded on a blog. The federal agency and Red's Trading Post of Twin Falls, Idaho, have been disputing for six years already over the store's license to sell firearms, with regulators using rules infractions such as a missing poster to attack Red's business operations.

Violence along the U.S-Mexico border has escalated in the past few months and so have the number of weapons recovered from Arizona, authorities said. A weapon seized after a drug-war massacre last week at a Mexican border town was sold in Phoenix, according to federal officials. "There is a war going on, on the border between two cartels. What do they need to fight that war? Guns. Where do they get them? From here," said William Newell, special agent in charge of the Phoenix division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Last week, 22 people died near...

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 26 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This morning in DeKalb, Marshall and Jefferson Counties, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) spearheaded the execution of four federal search warrants at the homes of members of a group called "The Free Militia." During the search warrants, ATF, along with state and local law enforcement recovered 130 grenades, an improvised rocket launcher with live rounds, a grenade launcher, a machine gun, a short barreled shot-gun, two silencers, numerous other firearms, 2500 rounds of ammunition, explosive components, approximately 70 Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), and commercial fireworks. Also recovered was enough ammunition...

Sgt. Robert Dwyer of the Nahant Police Dept. displays the German Maxim machine gun captured by Sgt. Alvin York in a famous and heroic episode during World War I. NAHANT - The Nahant Public Library wants to sell one of its most valuable possessions: a German machine gun captured by Army Sgt. Alvin C. York during World War I. How did the library trustees become the weapon’s keeper? According to local officials and historic documents, Nahant resident Mayland Lewis was on the battlefield in the Argonne Forest of France on Oct. 8, 1918, when Sgt. York led seven soldiers in...

Red's Trading Post in Twin Falls, Idaho, is the state's oldest gun shop, opened since 1936. In 2004, a routine BATFE audit revealed minor clerical errors. According to Red's, out of nearly ten THOUSAND firearms transferred between 1996 and 2004, the alleged error rate did not even reach 1%. Even the BATFE acknowledges these are minor paperwork errors -- there are no missing firearms and no willful illegal acts.And yet the BATFE has revoked the ability of Red's Trading Post to acquire firearms for resale, although they're still permitted to sell the firearms in stock ... for now. But that's...

MESA, Ariz. — Human and drug-smuggling organizations in Mexico are getting their guns from the same places law-abiding U.S. citizens are getting theirs: licensed gun dealers and gun shows, according to court documents. "There's an iron river of guns flowing to Mexico," said special agent Thomas Mangan, spokesman for the Phoenix office of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

It was like a macabre twist in a film noir: Confused hit men on the lookout for two men in a white sedan gun down the wrong people. Then they spot their intended targets, in the same traffic jam 20 yards away. And kill them, too. And it was all caught on a traffic camera

The U.S. government will not pursue charges against a Summerville pawnshop owner and 14 other gun dealers accused in a New York City lawsuit of illegally selling weapons, a newspaper reported.Various U.S. attorneys' offices and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined New York's findings against the dealers "do not rise to a level that would support a criminal prosecution," according to a U.S. Department of Justice letter sent to New York City Hall on Tuesday, the New York Daily News reported.The agencies also warned New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration that it could face legal liabilities if...

ATF Commerce in Firearms PDF Report The Gun Control Act of 1968 established the first comprehensive Federal licensing system for importers, manufacturers and dealers in firearms to the retail level. That system requires licensees to maintain detailed records on transactions in firearms, and subjects their business premises to inspection by the ATF. From 1968 to 1993, THE PROCESS TO OBTAIN A FEDERAL FIREARMS LICENSE WAS OVERLY SIMPLE. (emphasis added) The annual fee WAS ONLY $10 for a license that authorized the person to ship, transport and receive firearms in interstate commerce and engage in retail sales. The statue required ATF...

131 licenses revoked in 2006 amid closer federal scrutiny of record-keeping With little fanfare, the federal government has substantially increased the number of licenses it has taken away from gun dealers over the past five years, according to newly obtained statistics. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives pulled federal firearms licenses from 22 gun dealers across the country in 2001. That number increased almost six-fold last year when ATF revoked 131 licenses, statistics show. Despite the increase, license revocations remain exceedingly rare and the number pales in comparison with the roughly 105,000 people and businesses nationwide permitted to...

GREENSBORO - Veteran U.S. Rep. Howard Coble is trying to make gun regulators more effective, but critics say he’s actually shooting holes in the law governing firearm dealers. A bill he introduced earlier this year would give federal investigators new power to fine or suspend dealers who break rules designed to keep pistols, rifles and shotguns out of the wrong hands. The proposal also would prevent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives from lifting a dealer’s license for some kinds of administrative mistakes. Gun-control advocates say that aspect of the bill would cripple ATF regulators and could, ultimately,...

A Shocking Story of Gun Confiscation In America The video you will see on this web site is horrifying. The crimes committed against law-abiding gun owners are beyond comprehension. The arrogance of anti-gun politicians and government officials and their hate of freedom will churn your stomach. The law is the law, the Constitution is the Constitution. If ONE local mayor or police chief can decide what the Second Amendment means, it opens the door to tyranny—where ANY mayor or police chief can say what the Second Amendment means. That's why I'm asking you to make a special contribution to help...

HOUSE PASSES ATF REFORM BILL . . . With a 277-131 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives last week passed HR 5092, the "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Modernization and Reform Act of 2006." The legislation, which represents a major advance in protecting the rights of firearms retailers, now heads to the Senate. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have threatened to stall Senate consideration. The bill will bring consistency to ATF enforcement actions and provide ATF with additional compliance tools short of license revocation.

The LA County Gun Task Force has served another search warrant on the home of another member of the fifty caliber community. On Monday September 18th, eighteen police cars swarmed the neighborhood where the FCSA member lives and served a search warrant signed by Judge Steven Kleifield of the LA County Superior Court. The officers were at the residence for several hours and confiscated all semi-automatic firearms belonging to the victim. The probable cause for issuing the search warrant was not available in the body of the affidavit so the reason for the search is unknown at this time. It...

With student molestations skyrocketing, lawmakers demand weapon in drug fight WASHINGTON – Even though student molestations seem to be reaching epidemic proportions in schools across America, the House of Representatives has approved a tough new anti-drug and anti-weapon law that would require local districts to develop search policies – including strip searches – with immunity against prosecution for teachers and staff. Schools would have to develop policies for searching students, or face the loss of some federal funding, under the bill – HR 5295, approved by a voice vote Tuesday. It moves to the Senate, which does not have similar...

Eighth Circuit Appeals Court ruling says police may seize cash from motorists even in the absence of any evidence that a crime has been committed. A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that if a motorist is carrying large sums of money, it is automatically subject to confiscation. In the case entitled, "United States of America v. $124,700 in U.S. Currency," the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit took that amount of cash away from Emiliano Gomez Gonzolez, a man with a "lack of significant criminal history" neither accused nor convicted of any crime. On May 28, 2003, a...

Under headline ATF Strikes Bush's Words, Kamen writes "...deputy director Edgar A. Domenech , a career employee, became acting director. Although the idea of putting Bush's words on the entry originally came from the construction team and was approved up the ladder at ATF, GSA and apparently the White House, Domenech a week or so ago ordered that the project be dropped. Was this politically related?"