Video: GOA’s Larry Pratt Takes on ATF Nominee

0
Video: GOA’s Larry Pratt Takes on ATF Nominee

Larry Pratt tells why Obama's nomination, Andrew Traver, to head up the ATF is a direct attack on gun ownership.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is waging a war on innocent gun owners, and not surprisingly, the Obama administration has done nothing to keep them in check.

You are no doubt aware of how the agency has been going after honest gun dealers in recent years.  Combine that with byzantine federal laws and regulations — subject to BATF interpretation — and it's no wonder the number of FFL holders has decreased almost 80%.

Then there was former National Guardsman David Olofson. In 2008, Olofson's loaned AR-15 malfunctioned at a range — firing a three-round burst with a single trigger pull.  The ATF could only replicate the malfunction after experimenting with different types of ammunition behind closed doors.  Having achieved the result they wanted, the ATF labeled Olofson's gun a machine gun, and he was sentenced to three years in prison for an illegal “transfer.”

The agency also put millions of gun owners in its crosshairs when it reclassified shotguns that are equipped with pistol grips.  By decreeing in 2009 that such firearms are not “shotguns,” the ATF acted as a de facto legislative-making body… quietly turning millions of gun owners into potential criminals overnight.

If the weapons are not “shotguns,” then what are they?  The NFA Owners Association suggests the only logical alternative is that such firearms are now “destructive devices” — in the same category as grenade launchers, which require owners to register their weapons and pay a $200 tax.

Of course, failure to register such weapons and pay the required tax would result in the same treatment that David Olofson received.

One Senator on Capitol Hill is looking into the agency's contemptible practices and asking pointed questions of ATF Acting Director Ken Melson.

In late January, Senator Charles Grassley (R-AL) questioned Melson about abuses stemming from Project Gunrunner, a program the ATF started in 2005 to stop US guns from getting into the hands of Mexican drug cartels.  In order to track illegal gun running, the ATF engages in (and approves of) illegal gun purchases made at gun shows and stores throughout the southwest.

The word is starting to leak out that the ATF has its fingerprints on many of the strawman sales that are grabbing so many headlines.  On January 30, newspaper headlines in El Paso, Texas, stated that:  “US agency intentionally permits arms to be trafficked into Mexico.” Read more

Source: Gun Owners of America


Tactical Shotgun Resources

The Gun Digest Book of the Tactical Shotgun The Gun Digest Book of the Tactical Shotgun
SpecOps Adjustable Shotgun Stock Rem – NO Forend
SpecOps Adjustable Shotgun Stock w/forend – Black
Blackhawk! Shotshell Sling

Previous article Leupold Warns: Beware of Fake Scopes!
Next article NAGR: Is ATF Illegally Running Guns to Mexico?
Corey Graff is the managing editor of the <i><a href="https://www.gundigeststore.com/product/2023-standard-catalog-of-firearms-33rd-edition-the-illustrated-collectors-price-and-reference-guide/">Standard Catalog of Firearms</a></i> and <i><a href="https://www.gundigeststore.com/product/gun-digest-2023-77th-edition/">Gun Digest</a></i> annual book. In addition, he is the author of <i>What's In Your Bug-Out Bag?</i> and <i>The Comprehensive Guide to Concealed Carry Holsters.</i> His personal interest in firearms includes handguns for hunting and self-defense as well as bolt-action rifles for western hunting.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.