Firearms Industry Responds to Mayoral Gun Summit

centredaily.com ^ | Apr. 14, 2008 | NA

[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

[wastedyears]

They called in the National Guard.

[archy]

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.......

Indeed it was C4, which I believe was provided to Philly bomb disposal unit chief Frank Powell by the FBI. The Philly PD had claimed it was *just* two TR-2 Tovex *sausages*, then when under oath in the 1996 federal wrongful death civil suit, had to admit that Powell had added two M5A1 demolition charge blocks of C4 to the satchel charge he dropped from a Pennsylvania State Police helicopter after City Managing Director James S. White spilled the beans.

Whether Powell was sharp enough to have added anything else [Lewis bomb] to his C4 *bunker buster* or not, I don't know, but it did quite enough....

when it was over, 61 houses had been burned to the ground and eleven people burned to death, five of them children.

[archy]

Didn't the NOLA PD do all of the gun confiscation after Katrina? While I could be wrong, I believe that was the case.

No. Federal Marshals [or federal agents who so identified themselves] and Oklahoma National Guard troops were also involved in those confiscations, as was the BATF who may have also been the ones firing on police patrols, as well as killing five Corps of Engineers civilian contractors trying to repair the canals.

By the way: the current chief has said that if there's another disaster, he'll do it again, *agreements* with the toothless NRA be damned.

[archy]

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 !

One of my happier memories dates back to the Mississippi river flooding of 1993, when a USAF MAJGEN instructed me to remove the *civilians* from a room in which we were about to have a priority-defining meeting. Hey, do what you're told, right? So I very politely told the Superintendent of the Missouri Hiughway patrol he had to go, despite the colonel's chickens on his shoulder....

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.

Right up to the point that the LEOs become criminals, hiding behind their badges and uniforms to get away with breaking the laws they enforce on others. It used to be that the crooked and *rule over* cops were about one in ten, lately it's more like one in three- and worse in some of the pismire urban anthills.

An M60 or other GPMG, M249/248 etc is not a proper tool for a civilian policeman.

Oh, I figure they're just keeping them for me until I'm ready to take it. But I figure they have 'em for the day when they're going to put them in the towers covering the barbedwire around the detention centers.

[archy]

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......

Ever done the dogtag trick with Detasheet?

[archy]

A SWAT guy had an M60E he was using for a raid? What the heck kind of role would a support gunner play for a simple house raid?

Shooting any kids that they run out of the burning building after the flares they shoot inside it starts a fire.

The adults are bigger and slower, and the snipers can deal with them. The kids are a harder target, so it takes an MG to hose them.

[archy]

The sight (a few years ago) of a LASD SWAT weenie with a M60 GPMG on his surplus USAF Peacekeeper internal security vehicle that the AF Security Forces in the 80’s used for nuke security made my blood boil. That asshat was half loading that damn thing in a neighborhood, the burbs, going after a single barricaded suspect.

I really sort of hate to tell you this, but Pheonix Sheriff Joe Arpaio has an M2 .50 caliber atop a tin can for his S/D SWAT team. So too does one of the SWAT teams in one of the larger Southern cities, maybe Charlotte, NC PD if IRC.

[Squantos]

Yep.....lace, flowers, lizards and coins as well......:o)

[Squantos]

Reallllllly !!

Yeah.......lets counter the threat by becoming a bigger threat too the populace........damn.

[Blue Collar Christian]

“Unbelievable. Bloomberg doesn’t even know what the laws are, that dealers are inspected, and buyers have NICS checks.”

Have you met a liberal thinker (possible oxymoron) who lets the truth get in the way of their agenda?

[Blue Collar Christian]

“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.”

I posted here before, when I still lived in LA, that I personally observed the LA Unified School District cops practicing with fully auto sub-guns. I can’t remember the lame excuse given me, but it was something about how they had to go off campus to deal with some of their business.

If the cops need ‘em, so do I...or verse-visa.

[Squantos]

Yep ..........agree !