JPFO alert. Might interest some.
ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization
August 1, 2007
JPFO ALERT: Your "Representation" in Congress
JPFO has mentioned the "Fairness in Firearms Testing Act"
before. Introduced back in 2005 by Rep. Phil Gingrey of
Georgia, the act would require all firearms testing
performed by the BATFE to be videotaped, and to make
copies of the unedited recording available to owners of
the tested items and defendants in cases involving those
items. You can read more about this act, which was directly
inspired by the JPFO documentary _BATFE Fails the Test_
at
www.jpfo.org/alert20050418.htm .
The bill died in the House Judiciary Committee, chaired
by that great "friend" of gun owners, Rep. James
Sensenbrenner. You can read more about Sensenbrenner
here:
www.jpfo.org/alert20050519.htm and here:
www.jpfo.org/alert20050329.htm (you can also view our
latest handbill mocking Rep. Sensenbrenner at
www.jpfo.org/handbillsensenbrenner.jpg ).
Recently Rep. Gingrey attached an amendment to H.R.3093,
an Appropriations bill for the Department of Justice. The
amendment stated, "Sec. 701. None of the funds appropriated
by this Act may be used by the Director of the Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to pay the
compensation of employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,
Firearms and Explosives to test and examine firearms without
written and published testing standards."
In other words, if you don't test fairly, you don't get
paid. That's reasonable, isn't it?
Apparently the Appropriations Committee disagreed.
On July 25, the amendment to H.R. 3093 was "debated". You
can read the full text of both the amendment and the debate
here:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getpage.cgi?position=all&page=H8481&
dbname=2007_record
or
http://tinyurl.com/2upx3a .
The debate can be paraphrased as follows:
Rep Gingrey: Here's my amendment; let's discuss it.
Appropriations Committee: We don't want to talk about that
right now.
Rep Gingrey: Okay, I'll remove the amendment.
What do you suppose is the likelihood that the Appropriations
Committee will actually discuss this amendment further? We'd
guess it's pretty slim. Compare this to the Real ID act, which
was attached to a similar spending bill. It was passed
unanimously, with no discussion, and without even reading the
bill! (read more about that travesty here:
www.jpfo.org/alert20050511.htm ).
In his efforts to get the amendment discussed, Rep. Gingrey
pleaded with the committee,
"[W]ithout written and uniform standards, gun manufacturers
are left guessing about which agent will inspect the
firearm this week, whether or not they will be able to
ship a product out to potential customers, and whether
or not BATFE agents might even prosecute someone because
of a shipping mistake or a firearm malfunction. [W]ithout
written procedures, BATFE has literally a free rein to
mistreat manufacturers, change their mind after the fact,
and leave both manufacturers and customers at a legal and
financial disadvantage. In fact, BATFE regulations are so
inconsistent that some manufacturers have been threatened
with prosecution after receiving written approval for their
products from other BATFE personnel.
"Since 2002, 85 percent of American firearm manufacturers
have been forced to close their doors. Let me repeat that,
Mr. Chairman. Since 2002, 85 percent of American firearm
manufacturers have been forced to close their doors.
Moreover, with the increase in number of imported firearms
purchased by civilians and law enforcement alike, our
Nation is at a strategic defensive disadvantage."
Your friends in congress did not give a damn.
- The Liberty Crew
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