Rather curious, given Holder’s pseudo-resignation that his top deputy has resigned after a fast and furious gun turned up in a Phoenix crime.

And here’s the info that the Justice Department won’t give congress.

An ATF had one

From John Richardson:

It is within this context that I was surprised by a new question on the ATF Form 8 ((5320.11) Part II. This form is for the renewal of a Federal Firearms License I have circled it in the photo below. Having had my Curios & Relics FFL for going on 18 years, this will make my sixth renewal of my collector’s license. My last renewal was in 2011 and it did not have this question on it.

ATF using onerous regs to shut down gun dealers? Even those with a 99.9% rate of filling out paper work correctly.

Legislation Introduced to Eliminate ATF

Obama’s ATF wants people to list their race on 4473s.

Jay Dobyns is vindicated.

Prior stuff here.

Sig made a muzzle device that featured unenclosed baffles. ATF said it was a suppressor. A judge said to be a suppressor it had to actually suppress. Now, ATF is hitting the constructive possession angle, because you could enclose it.

Well, I have some PVC, wire mesh and some foam. I’m clearly in constructive possession.

So, someone took the ATF ruling that trusts aren’t people and applied to make a machine gun. ATF sent them an approved form 1. Apparently, ATF thinks this ruling only applies to some things and not others and called the guy asking him to send it back. Personally, I’d lawyer up and tell them to fuck off. I wouldn’t build the gun until talking to a good lawyer but definitely tell them to fuck off.

The multiple rifle reporting requirement has been upheld by an appeals court. There is no basis in the law for this. He has a pen and a phone.

They basically create a crime and then target minorities for the sting.

Expect ATF to reconsider their SB-15 classification?

Double taps and hoping ATF doesn’t see it.

Yeah, pretty much:

Kurt:

General Accounting Office report has found that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives lacks the resources to effectively investigate one of their highest stated priorities–firearms in the hands of those prohibited by federal law from having them.

They have a knack for stretching the truth.

Seems the ATF is going to actually check sound suppressors to make sure they suppress sound. Novel idea.

Oh, really? I doubt it.

Arbitrary and capricious: An interesting opinion in which a judge tells the ATF that for something to be a suppressor, it has to actually suppress sound:

A mouse is not an “elephant” solely because it has three characteristics that are common to known elephants: a tail, gray skin, and four legs. A child’s bike is not a “motorcycle” solely because it has three characteristics common to known motorcycles: two rubber tires, handlebars, and a leather seat. And a Bud Light is not “Single-Malt Scotch,” just because it is frequently served in a glass container, contains alcohol, and is available for purchase at a tavern.

And, as the judge noted, one would think that to determine if something is a silencer, ATF probably should measure the sound.

Seems a couple of judges didn’t care for ATF creating criminals and struck them down for it. Well, they are appealing.

Glenn has a report of more questionable ATF performance, in which they create crimes to blame people for. Kind of like how the FBI always creates terrorists to catch.

Imagine how differently people would think of ATF today if they created a crime for Randy Weaver to commit.

I had a conversation recently in the real world with a gun nut friend in which I basically said that gun rights folks were sort of like prisoners. If you’ve ever worked in a prison, you know that the prisoners have nothing to do all day long except plot how to circumvent the rules. And, if you work there, you have a job to do while they figure out ways to squeak out an extra privilege or whatever. And that’s what most did. Why not? Nothing else to do! The folks watching you have jobs to do.

Gun rights folks, while similar in circumstance, are different in motivation. They want to figure out the rules and exactly how they comply with them because they can. Or they want to prove how stupid gun laws are. Or because fuck you.

And gun rights folks also have the occasional person, who’s rather like the prisoner who thinks life is better if you accept your fate and suck up to the guards, that wags their finger when a firearms law hack presents itself.

I was rather surprised that a gun blogger, commenting on the SB-15 and tax avoidance, opined that: But to those people I overheard saying, “Yay! Now I can have a short barreled rifle without the paperwork!…” I say, “Shame on you!” This part of the post was as surprising to me as the hideous grammar and spelling.

Shame on me? What on earth for? Those that snatch up a SB-15 for giggles (like me) are complying with the law. And, as the owner of a tax stamp collection, I can tell you it’s a pain in the ass to get your SBR on. I don’t mind paying the tax. I mind the ridiculous bureaucracy-imposed 18 month plus waiting period that has grown substantially worse under the current administration. And I mind the national gun registry that is the NFRTR. And I mind an administration that doesn’t like gun owners very much. Or, I could hop on the internet and have a SB-15 shipped to my house overnight.

For a gun that’s just going to be a plaything anyway, it’s easy math.

So, yeah, from this inmate, I’m cool with anyone dropping their SB-15 on a sub 16 inch gun. Hell, I’m going to build four of them before ATF changes it’s mind or whatever it calls that arbitrary rules making apparatus it uses. And you should too.

Judge is leaning toward White House privilege claim in ‘Fast and Furious’. Yes, she’s leaning toward keeping secret documents that may explain exactly what the hell they were thinking.

Looks like it. but I wouldn’t bet on it flying. At all.

Police shut down a Minneapolis freeway due to a high risk stop because a man was waving a gun around and, generally, endangering other people. Seems he brandished a gun at another driver. He was released because he’s one of the king’s men.

The justice department is still withholding documents.

Mentioned it before, but the ATF glory hole story is making a come back.

ATF Gun Running: Fast and furious guns found in El Paso and Columbus.

It’s a good question on the SB15 pistol brace

SIG Sauer sues ATF for calling its ‘muzzle brake’ a gun silencer. It’s the same agency that says pieces of plastic are guns.