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Predictable spin on "Operation Gunwalker"
"America’s frontline agencies aren’t always coordinated fully and often feel powerless to arrest suspected gun runners in the absence of tougher federal laws. As a result, weapons from an ATF sting in Arizona called “Fast and Furious” unwittingly ended up in the possession of a trafficking ring in a neighboring state while other guns crossed the border and at least one showed up at a murder scene in Mexico."
"James Cavanaugh, a former ATF commander, said stemming the flow of guns to Mexico is a Herculean task given the lack of law-enforcement resources and political will.
“I don’t see how it’s realistically going to slow down if we don’t make changes in resources, laws and policies,” he said. “It’s important because people are being slaughtered.”
Agents and prosecutors have been especially passionate in pleading for Congress to pass a specific law banning gun trafficking, and have repeatedly watched as courts threw out cases against straw buyers who made purchases that were technically legal."
1) ATF is saying that straw purchases are "technically" legal? Interesting news to folks who were prosecuted for them.
2) If they didn't have the resources to investigate, or the laws to enforce, why did they let the sales go through? Is this "we're going to keep on doing it and if you don't give us money it'll happen again." ?
3) Let's see... the 4473 form has a box asking if the buyer is purchasing for himself. Lying on the form is a felony. Transferring a gun with reasonable cause to believe that it will be used to commit a felony is another violation, punished by up to ten years' imprisonment.
And then there's 22 U.S. Code §2778, giving the President broad power to restrict export of "defense articles.' and requiring registration of any exporting the same (violations punishable by up to ten years' imprisonment) and 18 U.S. Code §554:
"Whoever fraudulently or knowingly exports or sends from the United States, or attempts to export or send from the United States, any merchandise, article, or object contrary to any law or regulation of the United States, or receives, conceals, buys, sells, or in any manner facilitates the transportation, concealment, or sale of such merchandise, article or object, prior to exportation, knowing the same to be intended for exportation contrary to any law or regulation of the United States, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both."
And here's an ATF press release announcing indictments for illegally exporting firearms to Columbia. I bet the defendants would be surprised to hear that ATF says there are no laws against exporting arms!
· BATFE
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Just as I thought in the beginning. More money, more laws, and more agents, is their answer to this scandal.
From the For-What-It's-Worth Department:
The "Columbus 11" indictment appears to be a certified signed statement in which the federal government actually admits to allowing guns to be walked into Mexico for a period of 13+ months.
[W3]
Maybe the real answer is to seal the border.
More than have of the prisons are filled with inmates that started and get into a live of crime doing meth. 90 percent of the meth in the US comes from Mexico. The Mexican meth is so powerful and addictive that only 10 percent of the people who want to kick can and that's in the best medical settings.
So our federal government from the top is committing treason to manufacture crimes of running guns into Mexico to attack the Second Amendment of the Constitution. And turning their head at the death and destruction that meth is doing to America.
Just when I thought I'd seen it all...
Did they REALLY trot out old Waco-Jim? Good money in perjury, huh Jim? Not to mention burning women and children to death in their church, but then you was "protectin'" em -- "protected" 'em right into a charcoal briquet - right you sick piece of crap?
While I would not personally do him harm, nor would I wish for anyone else to do so, it is my fondest desire that Waco-Jim may get his just desserts, and die in a horrific fire of his own making moments before his otherwise-natural demise from an excruciatingly painful nut-cancer -- and then go on to his eternal reward in the hottest, foulest pits of hell.
Yeah, I know that ain't real nice, but it's the best "Christian charity" I can muster for such a vile example of the worst imaginable species of vermin. He deserves infinitely worse.
Anyone who would quote him in support of anything is either too stupid or too evil to deserve any further reading.
His very existence befouls reality - and just thinking of him makes me need a shower.
Sailor Curt nailed it! More money and power for the sake of money and power. Criminals are too difficult to apprehend, they may even fight back and if you can get them in court they have money for proper legal representation. Honest Joe Citizen doesnt stand a chance, he is not covering his ass(against what, with what?) how can he fight back and where is he going to get proper legal representation. Besides the government and the criminals are now one and the same, so who does that leave them to feed from? We are paying taxes to bring about our own demise.
They're talking about cases against DEALERS that are thrown out because the DEALERS didn't commit any crime.
They sold a gun to a non-prohibited person who passed the background check and properly filled out the requisite forms.
It was the PURCHASER who broke the law by lying on the form 4473.
Yet the ATF laments the fact that it can't prosecute the gun dealers who "technically" didn't break the law.
Because licensed gun dealers with fixed places of business are MUCH easier to track down and less dangerous to arrest than the criminals who buy guns illegally, the ATF would prefer that we make the otherwise law abiding into criminals rather than expect them to go after and arrest the actual ones.