ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
November 13, 2006
JPFO ALERT: An Open Letter to Brian Benczkowski
ATF Chief of Staff
Dear Mr. Benczkowski,
We'd like to congratulate you on your new position as Chief
of Staff for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. As you know, the BATFE has experienced several
embarrassments recently, such as the discovery that agents
were improperly talking to the neighbors and relatives of
people who were buying firearms at Virginia gun shows. This
incident, as well as several related ones, prompted the
recent BATFE hearings in Congress.
There are also problems with your Firearms Technology
Branch, which arbitrarily designates certain firearms or
accessories as "legal" or "illegal". We say arbitrarily
because we have seen multiple instances of items that are
categorized as "legal" suddenly recategorized as "illegal"
months and even years later. Worse, owners of these items
are seldom notified that their once-legal property is
suddenly illegal. These law-abiding citizens become
"criminals" overnight, and are completely unaware of it!
The Firearms Technology Branch has also been known to
incompetently "test" firearms. In at least one case, the
testing agent declared a rifle to be an illegally modified
machine gun because he was able to force it to rapid-fire.
It was only after a third party disassembled the rifle that
it was found to have a malfunctioning part. To think that a
man's life, freedom, and livelihood rested on the findings
of the Firearms Technology Branch ... and the BATFE didn't
even bother to inspect the rifle. It's not entirely
surprising, of course, considering that the BATFE has no
written, standardized procedures for performing these
tests.
We know such improprieties will not knowingly be permitted
to take place on your watch. Additionally, we hope that you
will seriously examine the cases of the hundreds or more
firearms owners who may have been falsely imprisoned as a
result of these poorly-executed tests.
We would like to offer you a complimentary copy of our book
_"Gun Control": Gateway to Tyranny_, which illustrates the
connections between the 1968 Gun Control Act and the 1938
Nazi gun control laws. The two are eerily similar.
_Gateway_ also reproduces a letter from Louis Coffin at the
Library of Congress to Senator Thomas Dodd, who had a copy
of the original Nazi laws and wished for a translation.
Senator Dodd, it should be noted, was a primary author of
the 1968 GCA. Would you or the Justice Department be
willing to open an investigation into the use of Nazi laws
as a model for American gun laws that infringe on the
rights of Americans?
As evidenced above, the BATFE has been riddled with greed,
arrogance, dishonesty, and incompetence from its inception.
Despite numerous attempts at "reform", these problems still
exist, and as a result, we've come to believe that the best
"reform" would be total abolishment of this agency.
Although you may not initially agree with this proposal, we
ask that you seriously examine it. If nothing else, coming
from Congress, you might want to consider that the party
that ultimately abolishes the BATFE would be assured of
political power for decades -- 60 million gun owners would
respond favorably.
You may be aware that our organization is currently in
production on a new documentary entitled _The Gang: Using
the Law to Destroy Your Freedom and Security_. This film is
admittedly highly critical of the BATFE for many of the
reasons listed above. As we are still in production, we'd
like to offer you the opportunity to appear on camera for
the film. This would provide you with the freedom to
express your opinion and any disagreements you may have
with our view of the BATFE.
In closing, we ask that you please take the time to address
our concerns and let us know if you will pursue justice.
Sincerely,
Aaron Zelman
Executive Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
www.jpfo.org
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
November 13, 2006
JPFO ALERT: An Open Letter to Brian Benczkowski
ATF Chief of Staff
Dear Mr. Benczkowski,
We'd like to congratulate you on your new position as Chief
of Staff for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and
Explosives. As you know, the BATFE has experienced several
embarrassments recently, such as the discovery that agents
were improperly talking to the neighbors and relatives of
people who were buying firearms at Virginia gun shows. This
incident, as well as several related ones, prompted the
recent BATFE hearings in Congress.
There are also problems with your Firearms Technology
Branch, which arbitrarily designates certain firearms or
accessories as "legal" or "illegal". We say arbitrarily
because we have seen multiple instances of items that are
categorized as "legal" suddenly recategorized as "illegal"
months and even years later. Worse, owners of these items
are seldom notified that their once-legal property is
suddenly illegal. These law-abiding citizens become
"criminals" overnight, and are completely unaware of it!
The Firearms Technology Branch has also been known to
incompetently "test" firearms. In at least one case, the
testing agent declared a rifle to be an illegally modified
machine gun because he was able to force it to rapid-fire.
It was only after a third party disassembled the rifle that
it was found to have a malfunctioning part. To think that a
man's life, freedom, and livelihood rested on the findings
of the Firearms Technology Branch ... and the BATFE didn't
even bother to inspect the rifle. It's not entirely
surprising, of course, considering that the BATFE has no
written, standardized procedures for performing these
tests.
We know such improprieties will not knowingly be permitted
to take place on your watch. Additionally, we hope that you
will seriously examine the cases of the hundreds or more
firearms owners who may have been falsely imprisoned as a
result of these poorly-executed tests.
We would like to offer you a complimentary copy of our book
_"Gun Control": Gateway to Tyranny_, which illustrates the
connections between the 1968 Gun Control Act and the 1938
Nazi gun control laws. The two are eerily similar.
_Gateway_ also reproduces a letter from Louis Coffin at the
Library of Congress to Senator Thomas Dodd, who had a copy
of the original Nazi laws and wished for a translation.
Senator Dodd, it should be noted, was a primary author of
the 1968 GCA. Would you or the Justice Department be
willing to open an investigation into the use of Nazi laws
as a model for American gun laws that infringe on the
rights of Americans?
As evidenced above, the BATFE has been riddled with greed,
arrogance, dishonesty, and incompetence from its inception.
Despite numerous attempts at "reform", these problems still
exist, and as a result, we've come to believe that the best
"reform" would be total abolishment of this agency.
Although you may not initially agree with this proposal, we
ask that you seriously examine it. If nothing else, coming
from Congress, you might want to consider that the party
that ultimately abolishes the BATFE would be assured of
political power for decades -- 60 million gun owners would
respond favorably.
You may be aware that our organization is currently in
production on a new documentary entitled _The Gang: Using
the Law to Destroy Your Freedom and Security_. This film is
admittedly highly critical of the BATFE for many of the
reasons listed above. As we are still in production, we'd
like to offer you the opportunity to appear on camera for
the film. This would provide you with the freedom to
express your opinion and any disagreements you may have
with our view of the BATFE.
In closing, we ask that you please take the time to address
our concerns and let us know if you will pursue justice.
Sincerely,
Aaron Zelman
Executive Director
Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
www.jpfo.org
