Friday, March 24, 2006

 

BATFE Again Acting Outside the Law?

Folks, I have read and been told many stories about the the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE), and it has become apparent to me that this administrative agency intentionally acts below the radar (as compared to high-profile FBI and NSA investigations) because they have a habit of circumventing the law.

I also believe that BATFE agents in general have 1) very active imaginations and 2) a brazen attitude that "the law be damned."

A friend of SayUncle is finding this out the hard way. In order, see here, here, and here.

Now I know nothing of this case, and maybe Scoot was making or possessed machine guns and this isn't a case of a bitter retaliatory ex-wife that the BATFE treated as if she spoke The Gospel. However, in my experience, people with knowledge of firearms laws tend to line-up in the following order:

1) NRA Office of the General Counsel
2) NRA Affiliated Attorneys
3) Gun Enthusiasts
4) U.S. Attorneys
5) BATFE Agents

Guys like Scoot and SayUncle have knowingly raised their profile through their Internet presence. They know they are subject to increased scrutiny, and they tend to act cautiously because of that.

If I am ever elected to Congress, one of my first acts would be to introduce a bill that completely defunds the BATFE. In my experience, they serve no purpose but to harass and handicap the civil liberties of Americans - certainly much more than any wiretap program that focuses on a foreign terrorist on the other end of the telephone line.

UPDATE: The list I provided is in no way a slap on U.S. Attorneys, by the way. In fact, it is a tribute of sorts. Those fine men and women have to prosecute cases in the panacea of the entire U.S. Code. That I consider them being more knowledgeable than the BATFE, which has a restricted subject-matter of concern, is actually quite a complement.

Comments:
Thanks for the plug and drawing attention to it. I've been on the horn with some legal folks who know their gun laws.

Regarding:

"maybe Scoot was making or possessed machine guns and this isn't a case of a bitter retaliatory ex-wife that the BATFE treated as if she spoke The Gospel"

I guess it's a remote possibility but if he is, it's news to me and I've been to his machine shop and have seen nothing of the kind.

As it stands, my friend is being railroaded.

-SayUncle
 
SayUncle -

I can't imagine that Scoot would keep such things from his friends. I know that I wouldn't, and I guess I pretty much apply that standard to everyone.

Yeah, it sounds like Scoot has been tied to the tracks. I hope he comes out of this OK.

People need to know that these things are happening in our own country every day. This is by no means an isolated incident.

Cheers,

Rob
 
Before they added the word "explosives" I used to jokingly say that if I were ever President, I would keep the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and use it to promote alcohol, tobacco, and firearms...

They not only act below the radar, they believe themselves above the law and they don't care about the Constitution. There really needs to be a mass-movement to abolish this organ of federal oppression.
 
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