The ATF is cheating on you

American Thinker ^ | 19 Feb, 2022 | D. Parker

[MtnClimber]

Are you in an abusive relationship with your government?

Sometimes it's hard to figure out what to do when the federal government breaks the law.

You know how it is. You've been in a steady relationship with a government agency for years now. You knew that it was involved in some pretty shady depravities of moonshine and tobacco. However, it had its semi-positive side in that you were forced to go through it to exercise a commonsense civil right. The bureaucracy had created the venerable 4473 form that you loved to fill out (not really, but work with us here) whenever you wanted to buy a gun from a federally licensed firearms dealer at a gun show or anywhere else.

Then you find out from a friend that the bureaucracy had gone behind your back and changed the 4473 forms, just so it could cheat on you. Trust us: the law-abiding are always the last to know. On those nights when it said it was working late, the bureaucracy was imaging the first page of the form when out with the FFLs, having cleverly set up the scheme ahead of time by rearranging the construction of the form. Goodness knows you could have been in a better relationship with a more established agency of the federal government, but you had no choice if you wanted to be able to defend yourself.

Then you caught the bureaucracy red-handed, hooking up with data on all the gun-owners in the country. Confronted with evidence of collecting data on billions of transactions, the bureaucracy denied it outright, asking, whom are you going to believe: it or your lying eyes?

[MtnClimber]

You can’t lie to them, but they can lie to you all day long.

[qaz123]

The government way

[Who is John Galt?]

Many gun owners routinely sell firearms, in order to purchase something different that better suits their needs. Even more gun owners move every five or ten years, or change their names, or give firearms to family members. And of course, there are deaths (with associated inheritances, official or otherwise), and thefts, and simple typos on the paperwork. Attempting to generate a usable registration database from decades-old 4473s is not just illegal - it’s a fool’s errand, and a complete waste of the taxpayers’ money...

[Lurkinanloomin]

Illegal, foolish, waste of taxpayer money?

That’s our government in a nutshell.

[coloradan]

I think you underestimate the power of a digital database. Sort by make, then sort by serial number, and you see the history of each firearm, at least where there are “universal background checks” (the liberal’s dream - for this exact reason). Also, grandpa’s gun from 30 years ago will still be on the list, if he never sold it.

What we need are criminal penalties for violating the law about not compiling a gun registration database. But, no chance of that happening during the Brandon administration.

[Brian Griffin]

Background checks could be done with every new passport.

Within 60 days of issue one could show one’s passport to a dealer, lay cash on the counter and walk out with your purchase, no record made.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Or we could dump the whole idea since it is against the Constitution and is totally useless.

Does not prevent criminals from getting weapons and never has.

So dump it or admit you like the taste of boot leather.

[larrytown]

Oh ye of little faith....

When they bring down the IRS on you, until you tell them WHERE said item went, and whom it was transferred to.

Oh, you will talk - you will ALL talk.

[Who is John Galt?]

Illegal, foolish, waste of taxpayer money? That’s our government in a nutshell.

And it's probably the career bureaucrats who are pushing this records collection thing. Gun owners know how stupid the "gun control" activists are - we've seen the ones who think bayonet lugs & adjustable stocks are dangerous, and the ones who think mags are like cans of hairspray ('when they're empty, they can't be refilled'), and the ones who think 'assault rifle' ammo is "more powerful" than hunting ammo.

Funny thing is, the bureaucrats know the Schumer/Feinstein-types are as dumb as rocks, too. So when they want more budget money to piss away, the ATF management tells the gun-grabbers "we can build a registration database from 4473s - but we need a bigger budget and more employees". And sure as shootin', they get a bigger budget and more employees - and probably promotions for the management, all to build a database that will be about as useful as Uncle Bob's dusty old daytimer, from when he was a sales rep for American Motors...

[Who is John Galt?]

When they bring down the IRS on you, until you tell them WHERE said item went, and whom it was transferred to.
Oh, you will talk - you will ALL talk.

Most gun owners do not hold FFLs, and therefore do not keep detailed records of their firearms dispositions. For example, I've owned three (or maybe four?) Marlin rifles during my life; all were purchased on 4473s (or equivalent); all were sold in complete compliance with the existing laws; and I don't honestly remember when, where, or to whom any of them were transferred, nor did I retain any records of the transfers.

Maybe you're different...

[Lurker]

First time I looked at your home page. I only know of one other Freeper who read Piekoff.

Here in Illinois we have a State law that says one must retain a record of any private sale of a firearm for 7 years. Supposedly it was to stop gangs,etc. But to my knowledge there hasn’t been a single prosecution. Not one.

L

[LastDayz]

Newsflash..... they’re are cheating on US.

[Who is John Galt?]

Great book - when I first read it, decades back, I was sure the author was unduly pessimistic. After all, we live in these United States, "the land of the free", not some third-world sh!thole.

Unfortunately, we're now seeing many of his predictions playing out in the daily news...

[jmacusa]

Alcohol Tobacco Firearms.

Sounds like it should be a connivance store.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

You just know Obama’s “civilian army” will have aerial maps with big red circles around the homes of illegally-registered gun owners.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Most of those firearms are at the bottoms of lakes after tragic boating accidents.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

When they come for your guns you might as well turn them in bullets-first because they are going to kill you anyway.

If enough of us do it, we might even win.

[Kevmo]

Looks like my decision continues to get vindicated. From my home page:

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I’ve been pro-gun since I realized it was a right protected in our 2nd amendment, since I was a child.

I was gonna start building a gun collection in the 1980s. But then I saw this movie scene when Red Dawn came out. A chilled hush ran through the theatre.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OaF-j8x5Vc

I thought about that movie for 3 days. I decided I would never be on anyone’s list of gun owners.

I was vindicated in this decision when a Newspaper sparked outrage for publishing names, addresses of gun permit holders
https://www.cnn.com/2012/12/25/us/new-york-gun-permit-map/index.html

And my decision was once again vindicated in the town I live in — San Jose, CA passed law requiring gun owners to get liability insurance
https://www.npr.org/2022/01/27/1076049808/san-jose-passes-law-requiring-gun-owners-to-get-liability-insurance

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