GOA Calls for House Investigation into “Project Gunrunner” as Sen. Reid Drags His Feet
(February 23, 2011)
“Two months after the shooting death of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office remain silent. But family members, and others, are speaking out.”-- William Lajeunesse, “America’s Third War: Agent Brian Terry, A Policy of Silence?,” Fox News, February 22, 2011
Summary
According to recent press reports -- such as Fox News -- the ATF has enabled gun smuggling by telling gun dealers in the southwest to sell weapons to known straw purchasers (people who buy guns for others). Even worse, one of those guns became the murder weapon in a tragic case where a Border Patrol agent, Brian Terry, was gunned down on December 14th, 2010.
This ATF operation is called Project Gunrunner and its purpose was to monitor illicit gun sales in the southwest in order to track down the smuggling rings delivering guns to the drug cartels.
But, now, it’s beginning to look like the biggest arms supplier is the ATF itself for having allowed more than 3000 weapons to be smuggled under its Gunrunner program.
While Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA) has demanded answers from the ATF, he has been blown off -- not only by agency superiors, but by officials as high up as Attorney General Eric Holder.
Given the fact that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is likely to drag his feet in order to protect Attorney General Eric Holder, we believe that hearings should begin in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Thus, Gun Owners of America is now calling for both the Judiciary Committee and the Committee on Oversight and Reform in the U.S. House of Representatives to initiate hearings into Project Gunrunner -- and presents the following information to help in their investigations.
Read the complete story with documentation by clicking here.
Opinion: Gun Control Emotions vs. Gun Control Facts
By John R. Lott Jr.
Just 24 hours after the shooting in Tucson, politicians were calling for more gun control. And the drumbeat has continued.On Sunday, Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., called for using the information supplied on people's applications to join the military to determine whether they will be banned from buying guns. Sens. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and Richard Lugar, R-Ind., promised a new push for renewing at least part of the federal assault weapons ban. The previous week had been filled with calls for everything from gun show regulations to a thousand-foot gun-free zone around politicians.
But while the emotional reaction to a mass shooting is understandable, the fact is that some of the proposals would at best only make people feel better and at worst make them less safe.
Click here to read the rest of the story at AOL news
Fire Arms Control Doesn't Work
by Erich Pratt, January 10, 2011
n the wake of the weekend's tragic shooting in Arizona, USA TODAY is once again bent on blaming millions of law abiding gun owners for the actions
of one depraved individual.
Among other things, the Editorial Board wants to ban self-defense magazines that hold extra ammunition. While such a ban would not stop thugs like Jared Loughner from getting them, it would impact good Americans who don't like breaking the law.
The problem is, a magazine that holds lots of ammunition is exactly what one needs when the police are not around and you are faced with mob violence. This was the situation during the 1992 Los Angeles riots. Korean merchants used firearms with large magazines to defend themselves against violent looters — and it was their stores that were left standing while other stores around them burned to the ground.
We're being told now that more gun control is needed. Really? Let's not forget that Loughner bought his firearm from a gun store and submitted to a background check. He had a clean record. The background check was supposed to save us from gun violence, but no amount of gun control will stop people like Loughner from getting guns.
So what can be done? (Click here to read the rest of the article)
SB 2099: A 100% Genuine Hoax
This is a very durable internet hoax.
The legend has it that next year we will have to list our firearms on our tax returns.
The first clue this is a fraud is that the US Senate does not use SB to designate bills – rather, it would be S. 2099. The second clue is that a search of the Library of Congress data base of bills in Congress reveals that the current S. 2099 is a bill to suspend temporarily the duty on certain heaters.
An additional clue that there is no such measure is that you would have heard about it early and often from Gun Owners of America if were a reality.
The fraud is durable because, like any good counterfeit, it is almost true. Sen. Bob Dole proposed a similar measure back in the 80s. We sure don't miss him, but his bad idea is still with us.