I got an e-mail asking what it was that the BATF charged the owner of Thunderbird Cartridge (the M...F...BOOM thread)? This is all from memory, so all errors are mine.
The first time was in the late 1960s. He was just a pup then. He told me it was common to
find de-mil-ed Sten guns at hardware stores. He bought one. Thought it was kind of cool.
Later the feds arrested him for having a gun which was "readily convertable" to full-auto,
even though it wouldn't fire at all when he had it.
It went to trial where the fun started. It turns out that the initial attempt to make the gun fire (they drilled out the plug and fiddled with the receiver) caused one federal agent to get himself a bloody hand when it was test-fired. Eventually they got it to fire. The government got an indictment.
On the witness stand it was discovered that the Sten gun, which had matching components when purchased, now had mismatched parts. Not only that, but the orginal barrel plug no
longer fit in the new barrel that was attached to the gun. A few lies later and we had an acquittal.
The next time he had a run-in with the BATF was after he was an FFL and Class3 guy. He
ordered some NFA guns (maybe Uzis). Before he went to pick them up the BATF arrested him and charged him with not entering the guns into his log. He told them that he hadn't even gone over to pick them up yet. The BATF told him it didn't matter. The dealer he had
bought them from had "already signed them over."
Of course the case went to trial and he won yet another acquittal. But this took 18 months. During that time his business was shut down and the government pulled a RICO civil forfeiture on the car he was driving when he was nabbed.
So he decides to go to the auction to buy it back. He was the high bidder at $1,200. The
government refused to allow him to take possession of the car. Instead, "sealed bids" were done. Two agents were allowed to bid on the car. Not coincidentally, both came up
bidding $550 which was the lowest allowable. They flipped a coin resulting in one agent driving off with the car.
Legal recourse, you say? None. The Courts have ruled that an acquittal does not save one from civil forfeiture. (I have the case on my hard drive somewhere).
Now do you understand why these bastards should be shut down? Do you really have no
objection to Clinton's call to hire 500 more of these vampires?
The Gun Control Act of 1968 should be repealed in its entirety with 1934 NFA to follow.
Rick
------------------
"Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American." Tench Coxe 2/20/1788
The first time was in the late 1960s. He was just a pup then. He told me it was common to
find de-mil-ed Sten guns at hardware stores. He bought one. Thought it was kind of cool.
Later the feds arrested him for having a gun which was "readily convertable" to full-auto,
even though it wouldn't fire at all when he had it.
It went to trial where the fun started. It turns out that the initial attempt to make the gun fire (they drilled out the plug and fiddled with the receiver) caused one federal agent to get himself a bloody hand when it was test-fired. Eventually they got it to fire. The government got an indictment.
On the witness stand it was discovered that the Sten gun, which had matching components when purchased, now had mismatched parts. Not only that, but the orginal barrel plug no
longer fit in the new barrel that was attached to the gun. A few lies later and we had an acquittal.
The next time he had a run-in with the BATF was after he was an FFL and Class3 guy. He
ordered some NFA guns (maybe Uzis). Before he went to pick them up the BATF arrested him and charged him with not entering the guns into his log. He told them that he hadn't even gone over to pick them up yet. The BATF told him it didn't matter. The dealer he had
bought them from had "already signed them over."
Of course the case went to trial and he won yet another acquittal. But this took 18 months. During that time his business was shut down and the government pulled a RICO civil forfeiture on the car he was driving when he was nabbed.
So he decides to go to the auction to buy it back. He was the high bidder at $1,200. The
government refused to allow him to take possession of the car. Instead, "sealed bids" were done. Two agents were allowed to bid on the car. Not coincidentally, both came up
bidding $550 which was the lowest allowable. They flipped a coin resulting in one agent driving off with the car.
Legal recourse, you say? None. The Courts have ruled that an acquittal does not save one from civil forfeiture. (I have the case on my hard drive somewhere).
Now do you understand why these bastards should be shut down? Do you really have no
objection to Clinton's call to hire 500 more of these vampires?
The Gun Control Act of 1968 should be repealed in its entirety with 1934 NFA to follow.
Rick
------------------
"Congress have no power to disarm the militia. Their swords, and every other terrible implement of the soldier, are the birth-right of an American." Tench Coxe 2/20/1788
