Showing posts with label NRA-ILA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NRA-ILA. Show all posts

Saturday, July 30, 2011

"Fast & Furious" Hearings Raise More Questions Than Answers

The more information that comes out about the reckless "Fast and Furious" gun running operation conducted by the Phoenix BATFE office, the more clear it seems that knowledge of the operation, and approval for it, went a lot higher than the Phoenix field office, or even the BATFE.
There is now clear evidence, uncovered by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee headed by Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) that senior Obama Administration officials were aware of this disastrous operation.
Last Tuesday, Rep. Issa conducted another round of hearings. Among those who testified were William Newell and William McMahon, BATFE Special Agents who oversaw the program in Phoenix. Those hearings revealed that senior Dept. of Justice officials, including former Deputy Attorney General David Ogden and Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, knew about the program.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Next Hearing on BATFE's “Operation Fast and Furious” Announced

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has announced that on Tuesday, July 26, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee will convene another hearing as part of the ongoing investigation into the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ “Operation Fast and Furious.”  The committee called the program “a tragically flawed effort that is connected to deaths on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border.”
The hearing, “Operation Fast and Furious: The Other Side of the Border,” will feature the testimony of U.S. law enforcement officials who witnessed a different side of the controversial operation. These agents allegedly saw the steady stream of “Fast and Furious” guns recovered at crime scenes in Mexico and were given orders from superiors not to alert Mexican authorities.
This latest hearing comes amidst new allegations that the Justice Department sought to shift blame for “Fast and Furious” away from its political appointees.
A July 20 Washington Times article quoted the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), as saying, “Examining the accounts of witnesses who did not participate in Operation Fast and Furious, but were nonetheless disturbed as they watched it unfold is critical to understanding the scope of this flawed program.  This testimony is especially important in light of the Justice Department’s willful efforts to withhold key evidence from investigators about what occurred, who knew and who authorized this reckless operation.”
The hearing will be streamed live at http://www.nramedia.org/t/130383/6843582/5825/0/

Saturday, July 23, 2011

U.S. Senate Stands with NRA

For nearly 20 years, the NRA has worked tirelessly to oppose any United Nations effort to undermine the constitutional rights of law-abiding American gun owners.  The latest attempt by the U.N. and global gun banners to eliminate our Second Amendment freedoms is to include civilian arms in the current Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), which will be finalized next year.

In order for any treaty to take effect, however, it must be ratified by two-thirds of the U.S. Senate.   To ensure that any ATT that includes civilian arms is dead on arrival in the Senate, the NRA has been working to get as many U.S. Senators as possible to publicly oppose any ATT that includes restrictions on civilian arms.

As of this morning, 50 members of the U.S. Senate have signed letters to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton saying they will oppose any ATT that includes civilian firearms ownership.  These strongly worded letters caution the President and Secretary of State to uphold the Constitution of the United States.  As Senator Jerry Moran's letter warns, “(A)s the treaty process continues, we strongly encourage your administration to uphold our constitutional protections of civilian firearms ownership.  These freedoms are non-negotiable, and we will oppose ratification of an Arms Trade Treaty presented to the Senate that in any way restricts the rights of law-abiding U.S. citizens to manufacture, assemble, possess, transfer or purchase firearms, ammunition and related items.”

Thanking the NRA for our long-standing work on this issue, Senator Moran remarked, "I appreciate the NRA's partnership on this important effort to defend the rights of American gun owners. I want to thank them for their active support in sending a strong message to the Obama Administration that our firearm freedoms are not negotiable."

As we have for nearly two decades, the NRA will continue to fight against any U.N. treaty that undermines the constitutional rights of American gun owners.  These letters send a clear message to the international bureaucrats who want to eliminate our fundamental, individual right to keep and bear arms.   Clearly, a U.N. ATT that includes civilian arms within its scope is not supported by the American people or their elected U.S. Senators.  We are grateful to Senator Moran, Senator Jon Tester, and all members of the Senate who have chosen to stand on the side of America's 80 million gun owners in opposition to those who want to eliminate our freedoms.  And thank you as well to those NRA members who contacted their Senators and encouraged them to support this critical effort.

Friday, July 15, 2011

NRA Delivers Remarks at U.N.

National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre addressed the United Nations this afternoon. He told the U.N. to not interfere with the Second Amendment freedoms of Americans and pledged to continue the fight to preserve civilian ownership of firearms in the U.S. He said the NRA will oppose any U.N. provision that seeks to prohibit or regulate U.S. civilian firearm ownership.  LaPierre said in his remarks, "The cornerstone of our freedom is the Second Amendment. Neither the United Nations, nor any other foreign influence, has the authority to meddle with the freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of Rights, endowed by our Creator, and due to all humankind."

United Nations Arms Trade Treaty

Preparatory Committee - 3d Session

New York, July 11-15, 2011

Statement of the National Rifle Association of America


Mr. Chairman, thank you for this brief opportunity to address the committee. I am Wayne
LaPierre and for 20 years now, I have served as Executive Vice President of the National Rifle
Association of America.


The NRA was founded in 1871, and ever since has staunchly defended the rights of its 4 million
members, America's 80 million law-abiding gun owners, and freedom-loving Americans
throughout our country.  In 1996, the NRA was recognized as an NGO of the United Nations
and, ever since then, has defended the constitutional freedom of Americans in this arena. The
NRA is the largest and most active firearms rights organization in the world and, although some
members of this committee may not like what I have to say, I am proud to defend the tens of
millions of lawful people NRA represents.


This present effort for an Arms Trade Treaty, or ATT, is now in its fifth year. We have closely
monitored this process with increasing concern. We've reviewed the statements of the countries
participating in these meetings. We've listened to other NGOs and read their numerous
proposals and reports, as well as carefully examined the papers you have produced.
We've watched, and read ... listened and monitored. Now, we must speak out.


The Right to Keep and Bear Arms in defense of self, family and country is ultimately self-evident
and is part of the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution. Reduced to its core, it
is about fundamental individual freedom, human worth, and self-destiny.


We reject the notion that American gun owners must accept any lesser amount of freedom in
order to be accepted among the international community. Our Founding Fathers long ago
rejected that notion and forged our great nation on the principle of freedom for the individual
citizen - not for the government.


Mr. Chairman, those working on this treaty have asked us to trust them ... but they've proven to
be unworthy of that trust.


We are told "Trust us; an ATT will not ban possession of any civilian firearms." Yet, the

proposals and statements presented to date have argued exactly the opposite, and - perhaps most
importantly - proposals to ban civilian firearms ownership have not been rejected.


We are told "Trust us; an ATT will not interfere with state domestic regulation of firearms."
Yet, there are constant calls for exactly such measures.


We are told "Trust us; an ATT will only affect the illegal trade in firearms." But then we're told
that in order to control the illegal trade, all states must control the legal firearms trade.


We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not require registration of civilian firearms." Yet, there are
numerous calls for record-keeping, and firearms tracking from production to eventual
destruction. That's nothing more than gun registration by a different name.


We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not create a new international bureaucracy." Well, that's
exactly what is now being proposed -- with a tongue-in-cheek assurance that it will just be a
SMALL bureaucracy.


We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not interfere with the lawful international commerce in
civilian firearms." But a manufacturer of civilian shotguns would have to comply with the same
regulatory process as a manufacturer of military attack helicopters.


We are told, "Trust us; an ATT will not interfere with a hunter or sport shooter travelling
internationally with firearms." However, he would have to get a so-called "transit permit"
merely to change airports for a connecting flight.


Mr. Chairman, our list of objections extends far beyond the proposals I just mentioned.

Unfortunately, my limited time today prevents me from providing greater detail on each of our
objections. I can assure you, however, that each is based on American law, as well as the
fundamental rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution.


It is regrettable that proposals affecting civilian firearms ownership are woven throughout the
proposed ATT. That being the case, however, there is only one solution to this problem: the
complete removal of civilian firearms from the scope of any ATT. I will repeat that point as it is
critical and not subject to negotiation - civilian firearms must not be part of any ATT. On this
there can be no compromise, as American gun owners will never surrender their Second
Amendment freedom.

It is also regrettable to find such intense focus on record-keeping, oversight, inspections,
supervision, tracking, tracing, surveillance, marking, documentation, verification, paper trails
and data banks, new global agencies and data centers. Nowhere do we find a thought about
respecting anyone's right of self-defense, privacy, property, due process, or observing personal
freedoms of any kind.


Mr. Chairman, I'd be remiss if I didn't also discuss the politics of an ATT. For the United States
to be a party to an ATT, it must be ratified by a two-thirds vote of the U.S. Senate. Some do not
realize that under the U.S. Constitution, the ultimate treaty power is not the President's power to
negotiate and sign treaties; it is the Senate's power to approve them.


To that end, it's important for the Preparatory Committee to understand that the proposed ATT is
already strongly opposed in the Senate - the very body that must approve it by a two-thirds
majority. There is a letter addressed to President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton that is
currently being circulated for the signatures of Senators who oppose the ATT. Once complete,
this letter will demonstrate that the proposed ATT will not pass the U.S. Senate.


So there is extremely strong resistance to the ATT in the United States, even before the treaty is
tabled. We are not aware of any precedent for this - rejecting a proposed treaty before it's even
submitted for consideration - but it speaks to the level of opposition. The proposed ATT has
become more than just controversial, as the Internet is awash with articles and messages calling
for its rejection. And those messages are all based on the same objection - infringement on the
constitutional freedom of American gun owners.


The cornerstone of our freedom is the Second Amendment. Neither the United Nations, nor any
other foreign influence, has the authority to meddle with the freedoms guaranteed by our Bill of
Rights, endowed by our Creator, and due to all humankind.


Therefore, the NRA will fight with all of its strength to oppose any ATT that includes civilian
firearms within its scope.


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Obama Administration Approves

On Monday, the Justice Department announced that it will proceed with a controversial reporting procedure that will require federally licensed firearms retailers in states bordering Mexico to report multiple sales of semi-automatic rifles.

Last fall, the reporting procedure was proposed as an “emergency" measure by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  The procedure specifically calls for all of the firearm retailers in California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas to report multiple sales, or other dispositions, of two or more .22 caliber or larger semi-automatic rifles that are capable of accepting a detachable magazine and that are purchased by the same individual within five consecutive business days.  For example, a dealer would have to tell the government every time a deer hunter in Sacramento or Amarillo finds a good deal on a pair of semi-auto .30-06s like the popular Remington 7400.

The BATFE has no legal authority to demand these reports, and the flood of new paperwork (BATFE estimates 18,000 reports per year) will waste scarce law enforcement resources that should be spent on legitimate investigations.

Deputy Attorney General James Cole said in the DOJ statement that this new reporting measure “will improve the ability of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to detect and disrupt the illegal weapons trafficking networks responsible for diverting firearms from lawful commerce to criminals and criminal organizations.”

As anyone who watches the news is aware, the BATFE has recently come under intense scrutiny due to its involvement in, and handling of, the ill-conceived and ill-fated “Fast and Furious” operation.  "Fast and Furious" was a part of the five-year-old "Project Gunrunner" program and encouraged Arizona gun stores to sell thousands of guns to suspicious buyers, despite objections from dealers and BATFE field agents alike.

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) called the new policy "the height of hypocrisy," and said the Obama administration is restricting the gun rights of border state citizens "when the administration knowingly and intentionally allowed guns to be trafficked into Mexico.”  Smith went on to say, “Limiting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens is not going to solve the problem."

Earlier this year, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on and passed, by a vote of 277 to 149, an amendment to H.R. 1 offered by Reps. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) and Dan Boren (D-Okla.) that prohibits the use of federal funds for the reporting scheme.
Unfortunately, the amendment was not included in the final version of the bill as a result of Senate inaction.  In March, U.S. Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) introduced legislation (S. 570) “to prohibit the Department of Justice from tracking and cataloguing the purchases of multiple rifles and shotguns."  The bill would prohibit the use of federal funds for a multiple sales reporting scheme proposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Please contact your Senator and encourage him or her to cosponsor S. 570 to stop this blatant abuse of power. You can reach your Senators at (202) 224-3121 or send them an e-mail by clicking here.

Commenting on the DOJ announcement, NRA-ILA Executive Director Chris W. Cox said, “$40 billion transnational criminal enterprises don't fill out paperwork and are not deterred by paperwork violations.  This is a blatant effort by the Obama administration and ATF to divert the focus of Congress and the general public from their gross incompetence in the 'Fast and Furious' scandal.  This scheme will unjustly burden law abiding retailers in border states.  It will not affect drug cartels and it won't prevent violence along our borders.  The BATFE and the Administration lack the statutory authority to do this and the NRA will file suit as soon as BATFE sends the first demand letters.”

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Hearing On “Fast And Furious” Uncovers Serious Failure At BATFE

The congressional hearings held this week by the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform revealed that the gun smuggling investigation known as “Fast and Furious” that was implemented out of the Phoenix Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) office was conducted in a reckless manner that led to the illegal sale of thousands of firearms. Many of those firearms ended up in the hands of Mexican drug cartels and other criminals, and may have contributed to the death of Border Patrol agent Brian Terry.
Some of the most important findings of the hearing and the investigative report compiled by the Committee staff include:

  • BATFE knowingly allowed as many as 2,500 firearms to be sold illegally to known or suspected straw purchasers. One of those purchasers accounted for over 700 illegal guns. 
  • BATFE ordered its agents working the program not to arrest illegal gun buyers or to interdict thousands of guns that were allowed to “walk” into criminal hands. 
  • Senior BATFE officials in Washington were regularly briefed on the operation and approved of the tactics employed. 
  • BATFE agents who opposed the operation and who raised objections were told to “get with the program” and threatened with job retaliation if they continued their opposition.
A number of BATFE agents who were assigned to “Fast and Furious” testified about the operation. 

Special Agent John Dodson, in his prepared testimony, stated: “Simply put, during this operation known as Fast and Furious, we, ATF, failed to fulfill one of our most fundamental obligations, to caretake the public trust; in part, to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.”

Dodson, along with Special Agents Olindo James Casa and Peter Forcelli each voiced strong opposition to the tactics employed that allowed so many firearms to be sold illegally.  In each case, their objections were repeatedly dismissed by BATFE superiors.

In fact, Special Agent Casa testified that BATFE officials sent out an e-mail rebuking those who opposed the plan with thinly veiled threats of professional retaliation. “Based on my eighteen years of experience with ATF,” testified Casa, “I did not think the e-mail was an empty threat and took it very serious. It has become common practice for ATF Supervisors to retaliate against employees that do not blindly toe the company line, no matter what the consequences.”

Agent Casa stated that agents were ordered not to take action against illegal gun buyers or to seize the firearms. Instead, surveillance was regularly terminated without further action.

Agent Casa went on to describe the operation as recklessly planned and implemented with the purpose of allowing firearms to be illegally trafficked.

Other testimony contradicted the long held position of anti-gun politicians that U.S. gun stores are part of criminal gun trafficking. In truth, gun dealers regularly cooperate with law enforcement and are a crucial ally in fighting gun traffickers.

As Agent Forcelli put it: “The gun dealers were our friends. They helped us make a lot of these cases. … But the problem is then, by getting them mixed up in this thing and encouraging to sell -- encouraging them to sell guns when they decided to stop did not help our reputation with the gun industry.”

In total, the witness statements and the findings of the staff report paint a shocking picture of an operation that intentionally allowed thousands of guns to end up in the hands of some of the most violent criminals in North America.  It also showed that senior officials of the BATFE, and not just regional or field supervisors, approved of the operation and received regular reports on its progress.

The failure of the BATFE to conduct its law enforcement duties in a responsible manner and the failure of senior leadership to heed the warnings and objections of field agents directly increased the level of violence in the southwest border region and increased the threat by ruthless drug cartels to law enforcement officers and private citizens, both in the U.S. and in Mexico.  

The hearings and report also show two additional serious problems.

First, since the story of this reckless operation became known, the Department of Justice has refused to fully respond to congressional inquiries. Both Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee have repeatedly requested full disclosure and been rebuffed. After nearly six months, DOJ continues to stonewall.  Chairman Issa pointed out that even the information that was provided to the committee was heavily redacted, with most of the key information blacked out.

This exchange between Rep. Issa and Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich clearly shows the ongoing refusal of the DOJ to cooperate:

Chairman Issa:  "Who authorized this program that got people killed? Who here in Washington authorized it?"

Weich:  "We don't know."

“We don’t know” is also the answer Attorney General Eric Holder provided to that same question when asked a few weeks ago. But after six months of scandal and scrutiny, it seems hard to believe the Attorney General still cannot answer this simple question.  Or is it that he will not?

The hearings also revealed just how far the anti-gun apologists for the Obama administration will go to change the subject and try to use any crisis to advance their anti-gun agenda.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, attempted to turn the hearings into a discussion of our gun laws. He announced that the Democrats on the committee will hold their own hearings to bring in witnesses that will argue for more gun laws.

Even in the face of overwhelming evidence of the reckless misuse of law enforcement authority by the BATFE and the agency’s intentional failure to stop the illegal sale of firearms to criminals, Rep. Cummings and other anti-gun politicians still believe that more gun laws are needed. In fact, the investigation of this scandal proves that federal and state law enforcement, including BATFE, have all the tools they need, except the leadership needed to conduct criminal investigations in a responsible manner. Clearly, in the case of operation “Fast and Furious” that leadership failed spectacularly.

Friday, June 3, 2011

Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Holds NRA Entitled to court fees.

Fairfax, VA—Today, the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals conclusively and forcefully held, without need for oral argument, that the National Rifle Association has the right to recover attorneys’ fees in its lawsuits against the city of Chicago's and the village of Oak Park’s unconstitutional gun bans. The court held that the NRA was a prevailing party in the case of National Rifle Association v. City of Chicago and Village of Oak Park.
“This is a Second Amendment victory and a civil rights victory. The National Rifle Association and the Second Amendment prevailed against those who sought to deny the right to keep and bear arms in Chicago and Oak Park,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “The attempt to avoid paying the NRA’s attorneys’ fees was rightly found to be unjust by the Court."
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Second Amendment guarantees a fundamental right to keep and bear arms for all Americans in the historic McDonald v. Chicago and NRA v. Chicago and Oak Park cases, it remanded them for the purpose of issuing an injunction against Chicago and Oak Park's unconstitutional gun ordinances. Before that injunction was issued, however, those ordinances were repealed. The City and the Village then argued that the NRA was not a prevailing party and should not be allowed to recover attorneys’ fees. The District Court, which originally ruled against the NRA, agreed and denied the fee award.
Today’s Seventh Circuit decision overturns that ruling, holding instead that the NRA is indeed a prevailing party and is entitled to receive reimbursement for attorneys’ fees. The amount to be recovered will be established by the District Court.
“This is a major victory for the NRA. While we are grateful to recover our attorneys’ fees, however, we remain steadfast in our belief that Chicago and Oak Park continue to circumvent the law of the land and deny their law-abiding residents the Second Amendment freedoms protected by the Constitution. We will continue to fight those efforts until the Second Amendment is fully respected," concluded Cox.