Posted on 04/15/2008 3:00:04 PM PDT by neverdem
NEWTOWN, Conn. — New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, at a meeting of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition he founded, announced today the Responsible Firearms Retail Partnership program with Wal-Mart. The retailer has agreed to retain records of purchasers of firearms that are later traced by law enforcement for reasons never disclosed to Wal-Mart. The retailer also agreed to run background checks on its employees handling firearms.
Commenting on today's announcement the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) - the firearms industry's trade association - said the partnership's name gives the false impression that federally licensed firearms dealers are somehow irresponsible. "Today's announcement reflects Mayor Bloomberg's troubling ignorance and misunderstanding of what can - and cannot - be gleaned from data of guns recovered by law enforcement and traced from the manufacturer to the first retailer purchaser," said NSSF Senior Vice President and General Counsel Lawrence G. Keane. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) maintain this trace data.
ATF has said repeatedly, "The appearance of (a licensed dealer) or a first unlicensed purchaser of record in association with a crime gun or in association with multiple crime guns in no way suggests that either the federal firearms licensed dealer (FFL) or the first purchaser has committed criminal acts. Rather, such information may provide a starting point for further and more detailed investigation" (Crime Gun Trace Analysis Reports, ATF, 1998).
NSSF has never opposed background checks on firearm retailer employees. "We have had a program to assist our members in running background checks on their prospective employees at a discounted rate," said Keane. "NSSF would consider supporting legislation to allow gun dealers to conduct background checks on prospective employees through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), which is currently prohibited by law."
"It is stunning that a mayor who claims to be interested in combating the criminal acquisition and misuse of firearms would continue to insult ATF and federal firearms licensees," continued Keane. He was alluding to Mayor Bloomberg's March 10, 2008, deposition (part 1 of deposition, part 2 of deposition) - part of a lawsuit filed by the City of New York against several out-of-state firearms dealers. During the deposition Bloomberg testified he stood by his earlier statements that ATF is "asleep at the switch," and added that the agency is "not doing their job" (page 52).
Perhaps the mayor's insults stems from his self-professed ignorance of our nation's firearms laws and regulations, business practices of firearms retailers and the duties of the ATF. "I don't know what the law is and what procedures are," responded the mayor to a deposition question on illegally purchased firearms (page 35). "I have no knowledge of what appropriate safeguards are for a dealer to comply with the law or what standard practices are in the arms business" (page 74).
In the same deposition Mr. Bloomberg admitted he did not know that ATF conducted inspections of firearms retailers. "I didn't even know they had inspections," the bewildered mayor offered (page 58). Mr. Bloomberg also noted that he did not know what a Federal Firearms Transaction Record commonly known as a Form 4473 was (page 75) or a NICS background check (page 79). Of course, before a licensed firearms dealer can sell a firearm the law requires the purchaser to complete, under penalty of perjury, a Form 4473. The form asks detailed questions about the purchaser including any past crimes committed and whether they are the actual buyer of the gun. Once the form is completed, and before the licensed dealer can transfer the firearm, the purchaser must pass a mandatory background check through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System or NICS, which is run by the FBI.
Mr. Bloomberg has rebuffed past firearms industry requests to educate him about industry's cooperative relations with law enforcement in assisting them in their efforts to reduce criminal access to firearms. For example, the partnership program between NSSF and ATF called Don't Lie for the Other Guy. In this program NSSF helps ATF to better educate America's firearms retailers on how to detect would-be straw purchasers and to raise public awareness that it is a serious crime to buy a firearm for a prohibited person. At his deposition, the mayor testified the program was "totally foreign" to him. Ironically, however, at his May 2006 press conference announcing his lawsuit against out-of-state firearms retailers, the ATF-Industry "Don't Lie" program was featured in a video clip where a firearms retailer "does the right thing" and refuses to sell a firearm to a perceived straw purchaser.
"The mayor's deposition and past statements make it clear that today's announcement was nothing but a publicity stunt," concluded Keane.
For the National Shooting Sports Foundation: Lawrence G. Keane, 203-426-1320
My point exactly ...........total BS for a LEO to use such or even have such in their armory. And I AM A FORMER DEPUTY SHERIFF and understand and followed the rule of making every effort too account for every round I fired in the performance of my duty. Surgical application of a sniper , superior force of a dynamic entry teams carbines, shotguns or sub guns is the limit for me. I remember when Rizzo’s Raiders used C4 on a city block in Philly. Insanity regardless of the target for a local “””police force””” to use such.
IMO a police force is a police force and the military is a superior force and never the two should be considered one in and of the same.......
Any company that makes pistols should pull out of the state of California, including support for law enforcement, like Barrett did.
Sic Semper Tyrannus
Seems to me they also had some sort of incindiary device they were going to drop on the roof (from a helicopter) so the M.O.V.E. bunch would get out of the building...for the children or somesuch, but it went through the roof and burned down a whole block, and roasted the kids, too.
The role of the two, police and military, are quite different, tho', from a legal aspect. The military's role is to destroy the enemy without hesitation much less a trial, but police are up against citizens who have Rights under the Constitution and are supposedly innocent until proven guilty.
The lines have blurred between the two nowadays to the point where most folk don't know there's a difference.
New York politicians - the best money can buy!
Nope it was C4....we (military) received standing orders that no military grade explosives aka C4 would every be issued or given to local police again. Not sure of the unit that gave it too em or where they got it but it was a C4 charge. Lots of after actions and reviews on that episode in stupidity.......
I went thru a large east coast city last week .........at first glance I mistook the local LEO’s for Nazi’s due their dress and mannerisms. Wearing LBE, bloused boots, talking to people like dogs, packing M4’s or MP5’s etc. Not sure if they were trying to impress us or what in a joint exercise but we interacted with em like the idiots they made themselves too be .......a joke attitude we can’t afford not too address NOW !
Support your local LEO’s at all costs , by all means possible yet make sure they have the proper tools to keep them safe and the community they protect even safer.
An M60 or other GPMG, M249/248 etc is not a proper tool for a civilian policeman. Yes policemen are civilians regardless of their opinions or BS they are taught.
.....just my observations and opinions ....my own.
Stay safe !
(that is actually this very thread)
Wow. That got ‘sanitized’ somewhere.... An expert can practically sharpen pencils with the stuff, a rank amateur...now, that’s scary.
There’s two instances of the military being called in to enforce law, that’s for desegregation of schools, and disarming law-abiding citizens in NOLA.
It’s getting there, Joe.
I have made shaped charges so small that I can punch your beer can on one side and have it drain into a glass next too it. Pride myself on knowing just how much C4 to shove up a bulls ass to blow his horns off without making his eyes water.......:o)
Stay safe !
After all of the stuff hit the fan after his first go round in trying to disarm people outside the sphincter he lives in I would very strongly doubt he didn't know this stuff. Like I said the man is a liar (among his other qualities).
Rich, mean, and stupid. The Bloomberg Trifecta.
From the "Gangland" shows and others I've seen, it's no wonder that urban mayors might have a big problem with firearms. It's not the firearms that are causing the problem though, it's the animals. If they somehow were relieved of all their firearms, they would kill each other with knives, bats and chains as they did in the past.
The pressure is on urban mayors to "do something", and by far the easiest "solution" is to try and dry up the supply of guns. It's much more difficult to even talk about what should really be done with the animals.
And before anyone thinks racism here, there are lots of white gang animals as well as black and latino. It's not a racial thing, but the gangs seem to have strong racial grudges against one another. So they kill each other with no conscience if someone crosses a boundary line. Some of them require killing as a rite of initiation. Animals.
Hey Mayor Bloomberg, Mayor Nutter, you can't solve your gang and criminal problems by disarming me. You just can't. You're going to have to find some other way.
None.
WallyWorld out-foxed Bloomberg.
IIRC, very few long-guns are perp-approved.
Nooo no no .......beer abuse is a serious crime in my profession . I would NOT spill a drop.....:o)
Only done it for dog and pony shows for vip’s that want to know what can and can’t be done. We use ditto emboss / label guns and sheet explosives to engrave / emboss steel / bronze as well......
Didn't the NOLA PD do all of the gun confiscation after Katrina? While I could be wrong, I believe that was the case.
Uh, counselor, have you considered that hizzoner might not be at all interested in reducing gun crime, but instead much more interested in controlling and confiscating guns?
Bloomberg isn't ignorant. He's a full-on napolean complex tyrant practicing the nanny state's proven method of incrementalism when it comes to gun control.
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