Federal agents hunt for guns, one house at a time
We had heard rumors of this before on gun boards. And also a mention in the press a bit back. Now, the Houston Chronicle is in on it:
Success on the front lines of a government blitz on gunrunners supplying Mexican drug cartels with Houston weaponry hinges on logging heavy miles and knocking on countless doors. Dozens of agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — sent here from around the country — are needed to follow what ATF acting director Kenneth Melson described as a “massive number of investigative leads.”
All told, Mexican officials in 2008 asked federal agents to trace the origins of more than 7,500 firearms recovered at crime scenes in Mexico. Most of them were traced back to Texas, California and Arizona.
Among other things, the agents are combing neighborhoods and asking people about suspicious purchases as well as seeking explanations as to how their guns ended up used in murders, kidnappings and other crimes in Mexico.
I note that the Chronicle’s example is one designed to make you sympathetic to the authorities. Note that it doesn’t lead with the reports from many, many law-abiding people who have also had to endure such questioning.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:18 pm
“It turned out two handguns, of a type drug gangsters prefer, were bought by a pastor for target practice.
Some stories, they say, are hard to believe.
The lamest so far came from a police officer: He said he bought a few military-style rifles, left them in his car and — on the same night — forgot to lock a door. He couldn’t explain why he didn’t file a police report or why he visited Mexico the day after the alleged theft.”
Guns preferred by gangsters?
Police doing straw purchases?
There’s either a lot more to this story or they just made some stuff up
July 1st, 2009 at 1:50 pm
So what is the correct response if they show up at your door and you know you’ve done nothing wrong? I’m sure “get the hell off my property” won’t work, even though it’s what one wants to say.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:58 pm
ATLien: Say “Get a warrant”, and close the door.
If they don’t have a warrant, they aren’t coming in.
Period.
If they did have a warrant, they wouldn’t be asking you questions until you were cuffed and the other agents were in the process of ransacking your digs.
July 1st, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Federal Agents must be have the permission of your County Sheriff. To come in and have a look-see requires a search warrant according to the 4th Amendment, that is, IF they are being law-abiding public servants. Otherwise it’s probably best not to be talkative and answer any questions, lest you omit some fact, say something non-factual or something and be accused of lying to a federal agent—the reason Martha Stewart went to jail.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
No they don’t Ron. Stop being a propagandist.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:43 pm
Some here are confusing “I wouldn’t answer that question” with “They cannot ask that question.”
“You purchased a handgun on 6/30/04, which you have not reported stolen. Can you explain how that handgun was used in a narcotics-related murder in Tecate?” Now, would I answer any such question? HELL NO. Is the question based on illegitimately requiring registration of firearms? HELL YES. But it’s a legitimate and legal question for them to ask.
For the cheap seats, I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t give a cup of piss to an ATF agent if he were dying of thirst, but I have trouble getting upset about this. The rest of my thoughts appear here, 3rd from the top.
July 1st, 2009 at 2:56 pm
“You have ATF agents in plain clothes, following legitimate leads on 7,500 confirmed straw purchases. We’re always screaming about the ATF fabricating charges, and using militarized tactics against innocent citizens, so we need to relax when they do something right.”
I’ll never relax about anything ATF does. The fact that they’re actually doing something right is, IMHO, a rare exception to their usual JBT practices.
July 1st, 2009 at 3:33 pm
nex ut tyrannus!
The hogs are hungry!
All freedom loving Americans should read, “Unintended Consequences” by Mr. John Ross!
July 1st, 2009 at 3:45 pm
If they showed up to my door, and asked to see a gun, any gun, I would say “You wanna see a gun? Go to a gun store. You wanna see if I have a gun? get a warrant.” Close door. Then, I’d continue cleaning what ever gun I was cleaning when I heard them knock.
The only reason this going door to door without a warrant stuff even works is because 90% of the population doesn’t know what the Bill of Rights is, and they bend over backwards to cooperate because they aren’t criminals and don’t want to seem rude. All it takes is one wrongly answered question or one bad joke to get you arrested, and when you are arrested, you are never innocent again. You are either guilty, not guilty, or adjudication is withheld. In any event, the only one who can loose from them randomly asking questions without your lawyer present is you.
July 1st, 2009 at 6:08 pm
Sounds like old fashioned investigating to me. No doors kicked in, no dogs shot, no kittens stomped.
So have they actually arrested any straw purchasers yet?
July 1st, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Watch these videos for information on how you should handle police inquiries/detentions:
Never ever talk to the police:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HukucKJS1_s
Surviving a police encounter:
July 2nd, 2009 at 1:56 am
I must not have bought enough of the right toys as the same time or something, they haven’t talked to me or any of my friends here in Houston yet.
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:00 pm
It’s wonderful that the Fed’s can go house to house looking for guns that might be used in a crime, but they can’t seem to track down illegal aliens. Gee…….I wonder why that is?