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Posted on 02/10/2006 9:21:46 AM PST by SonofLiberty1
Virginia - Oversight Hearing Set on BATFE Abuse at Richmond, VA Gun Show
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
On February 15, at 4:00 p.m., the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security will hold an oversight hearing to investigate apparent wrongdoing by BATFE at a Richmond, VA gun show last August.
In 2004-05, a troubling pattern emerged at a number of Richmond, VA-area gun shows, where hundreds of BATFE agents and state and local police staked out local shows. Immediately upon learning of these incidents, NRA began investigating and working to ensure congressional oversight hearings would be held to determine any wrongdoing and ensure BATFE was not overstepping its bounds or violating the law.
BATFE agents copied lawful gun purchase transaction records and provided this information to local police officers, who in turn conducted "residency checks." Federal law prohibits the release of this information except to state and local police to identify prohibited purchasers or recipients of guns. The information provided to local police prompted multiple instances of officers showing up at the homes of those who lawfully purchased firearms from licensed dealers at area gun shows. On occasions when the lawful purchasers were not at home, agents questioned family members (for example, inquiring of a wife if she knew her husband was at a gun show and/or had purchased a firearm) or their neighbors. In other cases, reports surfaced of lawful gun owners and holders of valid carry permits having their firearms confiscated.
Those interested in watching the hearings online may do so at http://judiciary.house.gov/schedule.aspx.
What is the penalty? Not that anything will probably happen to these jerks.
Attended and purchased at some of these shows... Never had a problem before..
BATF seems to have been putting a foot in the water to test the temperature, time to make it too hot for them!
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After reading the article about the two cops arrested with automatic weapons I kind of wonder how they police their own.
What kind of people were they questioning, any patterns? Cuz I'd figure the feds should be pretty busy doing W.O.T.-related duties...
If they have nothing better to do than this, I suggest sending them to the US-Mexico border, where they can investigate the legality of Mexicans in military uniforms transporting crew-served weapons across the border to menace our border patrol officers.
My motto has been for a long time, 'Don't matter who you vote for, Government always wins'.
Off topic, that song has the best opening riff, period.
Yes, while I find the story alarming on its face, I'd probably feel differently if it turned out the only people they followed up on, or maybe even copied the purchase records on, were recent immigrants from terrorist-exporting countries and home grown people who were known to be affiliated with extremist Muslim groups. Given the BATF's history, though, I sort of doubt that's what happened. And anything like that should be done by, or in conjunction with the DHS or FBI.
They were US citizens. BATFE broke the law. There is a thread at Thehighroad.org on the legal and political forum. One of the guys testifying aganist the BATFE is posting there.
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