Congress Told of ATF Seizures, Threats to Gun Buyers
By Jeff Johnson
Feb 17, 2006
(CNSNews.com) - Agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), allegedly acting
without warrants or legislative authority to do so, seized
firearms from at least 50 gun show patrons in Virginia
according to congressional testimony and an agency document
made public Wednesday. Witnesses also testified that
African-American and female gun buyers in Richmond, Va., and
Pittsburgh, Pa., were profiled based on their race or sex and
some in Pittsburgh were threatened with arrest by ATF agents
for alleged actions that are not violations of law.
Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) chairs the House Judiciary
Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security, which
has jurisdiction over ATF. While he supports the agency's
mission, Coble questions some of its tactics.
"ATF reports that 206 [gun show] participants were stopped and
interviewed while it confiscated firearms from another 50
participants," Coble said, referring to gun shows in Richmond,
Va. "Although most of the firearms were ultimately returned,
the purchasers were notified via official letter from ATF that
[they] were ordered to appear at the local ATF office to
discuss their transactions. In addition, the letter explained
that failure to appear could result in an arrest warrant being
issued for the alleged charges."
The form letter had blanks for the name of the gun show patron
and the date and time they were ordered to appear at the ATF
field office, but cited no authority for the gun confiscations
or the mandatory office visits.
"An investigation has revealed that you may have violated
Title 18 U.S.C. Section 924(a)(1)(A), a crime punishable by
imprisonment for up to five years," the letter began. The U.S.
Code citation refers, in this instance, to knowingly making a
false statement on the ATF Form 4473 "Firearms Transaction
Record Part I - Over-The-Counter," which is completed for each
firearm purchased from a federally licensed firearms dealer (FFL).
"The firearm that you purchased is being taken into ATF
custody," the letter continued, citing no authority for the
seizure.
Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.) said the ATF letter and the reported
interrogation of lawful gun buyers raise "serious questions."
"There's a way to have a sting operation that's legal. This
dragnet, apparent dragnet, however, is not the way it ought to
be done," Scott said. "You have to show probable cause and it
can be done. But you ought not just stop people without
probable cause and without any indication of guilt."
John White, a former law enforcement officer who is now an FFL
operating under the business name "The Gunsmith," said female
customers who approached his sales area at the Richmond shows
were immediately targeted by the "undercover" officers.
"If a woman showed up at my table, she was surrounded by law
enforcement," White recalled. "If the lady walked off and
suddenly stopped, they would have bumped into each other.
Their surveillance methods were pitiful.
"Every woman that makes a purchase, every woman who comes to
my table to buy a gun was automatically [treated as] a straw
purchaser," White said. (A "straw purchaser" is a person who
can otherwise legally purchase a firearm, but who does so with
the intent to illegally provide it to an ineligible buyer such
as a convicted felon or an illegal alien. "Straw purchases"
are illegal.)
As Cybercast News Service initially reported, ATF agents
working with as many as 400 state, county and city police
officers near Richmond, Va., conducted so-called "residency
checks" on individuals who purchased firearms from the
Showmasters Gun Show Aug. 13 and 14, 2005. Uniformed officers
went to the homes of prospective gun buyers, while they waited
for their National Instant Check System (NICS) background
checks to be completed and questioned family members and
neighbors about the gun buyers' firearm purchasing habits.
In a subsequent report, Cybercast News Service detailed that
ATF had conducted at least seven similar gun show "sting
operations" targeting Richmond-area residents since July of
2004. ATF refused to discuss any of the operations with
Cybercast News Service and refused to provide any
documentation in response to Freedom of Information Act
requests filed by the sponsors of the Richmond gun shows.
Suzanne McComas, a licensed private investigator who has
worked with the America's Most Wanted television program, was
hired by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to gather
information about ATF's Richmond operations. During her
investigation, she learned that the agency had been conducting
"residency checks" in at least one other U.S. city, but using
different and "much more intimidating" tactics.
"At Pittsburgh, the Firearms Task Force there that's also
headed by the ATF, instead of doing residency checks
immediately, they're collecting the 4473 with the purchaser's
address on it, then they go knock at the door about a week
later and ask, 'Could we see the gun that you bought?'"
McComas explained. "There's absolutely no process involved,
there's no reason for them to do it. If you cannot produce the
gun, they ask you for the sale paperwork. If you refuse to
produce the paperwork they put you under arrest for a 'straw
purchase.'"
Federal law requires licensed gun dealers to complete an ATF
Form 4473 for each firearm sold through their business, in
addition to any forms required by the state, county and/or
city where they do business. Private sales between
individuals, who are not engaged in the firearms trade as a
business, are subject to no such federal recordkeeping
requirements. Therefore a gun show purchaser could legally
sell or even give the gun they purchased to someone else yet
have no paperwork to meet the ATF's demand.
"You and I know that, but [a woman who bought a gun and then
gave or sold it to someone else, both legally] probably
doesn't," McComas told Cybercast News Service. "If she can't
produce it, they arrest her for a straw purchase and her life
turns into a living hell until she can prove otherwise. It's
zero probable cause except for the fact that they thought it
was a straw purchase because she was black and she was young
and she was female."
McComas questioned not only the legality of the ATF tactics in
Pittsburgh, but also the methodology.
"When I asked them what their criteria was for the people that
they collected the 4473s on at the Pittsburgh show, the answer
I got back was, 'If it walks like a duck and quacks like a
duck it's a duck. That's all we need,'" McComas continued.
"Translation: Under 30 and black, period. That's all they were
looking for. Anyone who meets those criteria, they're doing a
follow-up on."
She said that, as in Richmond, agents in Pittsburgh were also
engaged in activities that gun dealers believe were designed
to discourage lawful purchases by minorities.
"Anyone who was a minority, they picked up their 'tail,' if
you will, and just followed them through the gun show. When
they stopped at a table, the agents would literally stand on
one side or the other and watch what they were doing. If they
started to purchase a gun [the agents] would ask them why they
were buying it, what were they buying it for, what did they
need that gun for," McComas related. "It was ridiculous. There
was absolutely no reason for it other than the color of their
skin."
Rep. William Delahunt (D-Mass.) said he had not intended to
attend the hearing, which was held immediately after a
subcommittee vote on an unrelated bill, but stayed because he
was fascinated by the witnesses' testimony.
"These must be the dumbest ATF agents in the entire agency,"
Delahunt said. "I am absolutely shocked that they could be
that stupid.
"It's almost to the point that it's difficult to believe," he
added. "I have never heard of an experience like the ones you
recount, but you all seem to be in agreement. It's just
mind-boggling."
Rep. Tom Feeney (R-Fla.) expressed curiosity that federal law
enforcement officers would not know that the actions described
by White and McComas violate federal statutes.
"Did anybody mention that it is a federal crime to deny women
or minorities their civil rights?" Feeney asked. "Did anybody
mention to the ATF that denying civil rights, including the
right to bear arms, is a federal crime?"
Feeney suggested that, since ATF had refused to comply with
the Freedom of Information Act requests from the gun show
promoters, the subcommittee should request the information
they were seeking. Coble noted that such a letter had already
been sent.
ATF representatives present at Wednesday's hearing reluctantly
identified themselves by raising their hands when asked to do
so by Coble. They would not respond to the new allegations
raised in the hearing, but referred questions to their press
office. ATF officials are expected to testify on the issues
raised Wednesday in a second hearing scheduled for Feb. 28.
Source:
http://www.townhall.com/news/ext_wire.html?rowid=46624 |
