Joe Huffman:

Thank you ATF and Federal judicial system for doing the right thing.

They’ve stated: licensed manufacturers who perform a manufacturing process on the firearms for, or on behalf of, another licensed manufacturer not to place their serial numbers and other required identification markings on the firearms, provided such firearms have already been marked as required and that all of the other requirements

Ruling here.

Seen at Joe’s:

A judge found the actions of federal agents who refused to show Zanesville residents a warrant when asked are “completely unreasonable and unjustified.”

…

At the suppression hearing in July, Marbley made it clear to agents with the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Bosley, that he was unhappy with the way agents handled the search June 18 at the Thompson home on Kopchak Road.

…

Marian Thompson said even though she repeatedly asked for a warrant, none was ever supplied.

Marbley stated in his ruling that “one of the purposes served by the warrant requirement is informing citizens that the executing agents are acting under proper authorization when they invade the sanctity of a citizen’s home.”

ATF devoting significant resources trying to solve the problem of toilet vandalism.

Local ATF Agent Arrested Again. At least there was no stand off this time. Looks like a conviction could lead to him losing his gun rights, since his first arrest is from a domestic violence incident.

Apparently, ATF and the FBI keep getting in a pissing match over bomb investigations.

David: Why is mainstream media silent on ATF corruption charges?

David Hardy:

it was an NFA prosecution, where the defense launched a HARD attack on the messed up nature of the government’s NFA firearm files, including calling a very well qualified expert to testify to the unreliability of files with such flaws.

Not the first time we’ve heard of problems with the NFRTR.

Agent expected to testify they got a warrant illegally. Via David, who sums it up: Vince Cefalu, an ATF supervisor, and lead supervisor on the case, has testified that investigators perjured themselves to get a wiretap order, and that when he objected to this, he was taken off the case.

It’s unlawful to maintain a list of gun owners. But some links here indicate that ATF is dutifully data mining firearms data.

From Congressman Zack Space:

Citing the vital need to protect Americans from overzealous federal agents, Congressman Zack Space (OH-18) today issued a challenge to those Members of Congress who supported his Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) reform legislation, but have yet to sign on this Congress.

“This legislation is far too important to languish due to cold feet,” Space said. “Well-intentioned, law-abiding citizens are being unfairly targeted by federal agents who should be more concerned about the Second Amendment than their next promotion.”

Via Redneckin, comes word of a man whose vintage airplane was confiscated for failing to fill out ATF forms.

ATF is heading to the border.

Some reform advocated from inside the agency. Via David who reminds us that:

I’ve griped about the agency as much as anyone, but the bottom line is there are folks with it who are decent, and folks who are not, and the problem is that the folks who are not get promoted, get into power, and are in positions to shaft those who are decent.

I think we often forget that a lot of ATF agents are gunnies too.

Interesting:

In an extremely disconcerting scenario, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) has approved an application to transfer an NFA firearm, while acknowledging that the trust was not valid.

ATF approved the trust and noted it was not valid. This could, of course, lead to ATF initiating forfeiture proceedings.

David reminds us of ATF’s policy of institutional level lying with respect to data in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record.

New acting head of ATF

Another good guy at ATF? Not unheard of. Those guys tend to be gunnies themselves. But they get of, err, shall we say enthusiastic training.

Before, I’ve noted ATF attempting to regulate model rocketry. Looks like the evil rocketry association must be stepping in since ATF just had their wrists slapped.

With ATF.

Reports (with pics) from an arfcommer who states an ATF agent who stayed at the hotel he works at left his gun under the pillow. Ooops. I would have replied with either I Always Think Forfeiture or I’ll give it back when CavArms gets their stuff back.

ATF gets $10,000,000 from the stimulus bill to keep guns out of Mexico.

SOF alleges corruption from ATF agents deployed to Iraq. In other news, ATF agents were deployed to Iraq?

Mike Sullivan has resigned as head of the ATF. Good. But before getting too excited, bear in mind who will be appointing his successor.

ATF agent charged with murder.

Some neo-Nazi bone err skin heads decided to try to kill Obama. Ok, more likely, the neo-Nazi shit err skin heads got on Al Gore’s internets and entertained delusions of not being retarded and planned to kill black people and, ultimately, targeting Obama. The ATF was probably perusing stormfront or some other hotbed of racist douchebaggery, caught wind of it and moved in. I’m actually wondering just how credible a threat these two doofuses were? Yeah, they’re just kids but so were those two dipshits from the Columbine shooting. I’m not faulting the authorities for moving in and I do think they did the right thing. But I have to wonder if these two bozos were really a credible threat?

Allegations of software piracy leveled against ATF by GOA.

Interesting:

Deputy Director Edgar Domenech just got a government “golden parachute” out. It’s impossible to sort out the internal politics involved, but he’d been demoted and said it was a result of exposing wasteful spending by the prior director.

And:

The ATF director has just been given a report from the Inspector General that is pretty devastating.

Another? They get like two per year and nothing changes.

It doesn’t treat agents that go after real gun crime very well. Sebastian notes, as I have said before, that this is why ATF spends so much time going after gun dealers who make clerical errors. Going up against real bad guys is dangerous.

The wide-stanced one continues to block Michael Sullivan’s confirmation:

For more than two years, U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan has been consumed by the latest entry on his resume: acting chief of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The Republican has been balancing both jobs while dealing with opposition to his ATF confirmation from members of his own party in the Senate. Now, with the presidential election a month away and Congress adjourned, Sullivan, 54, could soon end up unemployed.

Well, here’s hoping.