Its all Lou's fault that people are criminals...

[Autolycus]

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/states/pennsylvania/15480309.htm
Tom Ferrick Jr. | In antigun fight, ATF is the pawn
By Tom Ferrick Jr.
Inquirer Columnist

Before Nate Finkley got off drugs, served time in prison, went straight, and became a minister, he had an interesting line of work.

He was a gun trafficker.

Finkley would go into a gun store, buy a number of handguns, then resell them to members of a Philadelphia-based Jamaican drug gang.

Finkley's favorite place to buy his guns? Lou's Loans, a hole-in-the wall pawnshop on 69th Street in Upper Darby.

As he told researchers from the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, Lou's was well-known "within the Philadelphia underworld" as a source of guns.

Tipped off by the Philadelphia police, the feds eventually caught up with Finkley.

At his trial, prosecutors said that Finkley had displayed many red flags to signal he was a straw buyer, but that Lou's had never raised those flags.

Finkley went to jail, but Lou's kept on truckin' - to use an antique phrase. This one is appropriate because Finkley went to jail in 1988.

As to Lou's, it was still selling guns in May when I went there, with a wad of $20s in my pocket, and purchased two handguns for $820. The transaction took less than an hour.

Gun sales in the store were finally stopped July 31 by agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, better known as ATF.

The ATF news release announcing the revocation of Lou's license was short on details. It simply said agents had found "numerous and egregious violations of federal gun laws."

Lethal Lou's

But researchers at the Brady Center dug up many more details about "Lethal Lou's," as they call the store.

Philadelphia police told them that firearms purchased at Lou's had been used in at least 19 homicides and 65 aggravated assaults in the city between 2003 and last year. Between 1996 and 2000, 441 crime guns were traced to Lou's.

The Brady researchers examined court records and found that the ATF had cited Lou's for 239 violations, including selling multiple guns to one buyer without notifying law enforcement agencies, as required by law. I wonder whether I was one of them?

For the record, Lou's owner, Stan Myerson, is contesting the ATF revocation in the courts and denies violating any federal rules or regs.

As you may have noticed, ATF wheels do grind slowly. The bureau had its suspicions about Lou's in the late '80s, when Finkley was active. Why did it take two decades to move on the store?

I can't answer that definitively. The agency won't say, but the folks at the Brady Center speculate it may have had something to do with a 2005 suit filed on behalf of the family of Anthony Oliver Jr., a 14-year-old Philadelphia boy who was accidentally shot and killed by a friend. The suit accuses Lou's of negligence in the boy's death, saying the store sold the gun used in the shooting to a trafficker.

NRA at work

But there's another element to it. Congress - at the behest of the National Rifle Association - keeps passing laws designed to hinder ATF enforcement.

A few years ago, it passed a law forbidding the ATF to conduct more than one unannounced inspection of gun shops each year. Recently, it passed another forbidding the ATF to release to the public information on the gun tracing it does.

But wait, there's more. The House Judiciary Committee approved a bill Thursday to "reform" the ATF. The bill would lower penalties on gun-shop violators and insulate gun sellers from ATF action by allowing them to argue the violation was not intentional.

In other words, it shoots more holes in ATF's enforcement powers, if you'll forgive the phrase.

(An aside: One of the cosponsors is U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, whose district includes Lou's.)

It's all part of Congress' attempt to kiss the gun, as demanded by the NRA.

You say: It's crazy. Why would anyone try to make it harder for the feds to stop gun trafficking?

I reply: That's why they call them gun nuts.
Contact Tom Ferrick at 215-854-2714 or [email protected]. You can read his political blog at this Web address: http:/go.philly.com/poliblog2006


Submissions to the main letters section may be e-mailed to
[email protected]

 

[loki.fish]

Wow....I just dunno what to say about this article. So now we're "gun nuts" because the NRA is supposedly making it harder for the feds to stop gun trafficking?

 

[shermacman]

I went there, with a wad of $20s in my pocket, and purchased two handguns for $820.

Yo, finance man, the street value for a decent semi-auto hand gun is around $250. I call BS.

 

[glummer]

Smells fishy. The ATF NOT going after an obvious shady gun dealer? There must be something more the story doesn't tell us. And the reliance on Brady Bunch propaganda is suspicious.

 

[Technosavant]

Did Mr. Ferrick get his permit in order to print his column? Did he undergo a proper background check? Did he wait a certain amount of time to ensure that he wasn't printing things written in a heat of passion, that with a cooler head he might temper somewhat? Did Mr. Ferrick ensure that those who read this piece of speech are unlikely to "go off the deep end" and use his words irresponsibly?

Of course not. We call it free speech, it's guaranteed by the First Amendment, and we don't need government approval for that which the Bill of Rights recognizes as a pre-existing right. The government has no power to infringe upon free speech.

But how about the right guaranteed by the Second Amendment, written immediately following the First? All of a sudden "shall not be infringed" means something completely other?

People like Mr. Ferrick have applauded as the Second Amendment dwindles to nothing, which is why the First Amendment is now in great peril as well. He ought to think on such things- if the pen is indeed mightier than the sword, then we can see that if a government is bent on oppression, those with the pen will be hit ever more severely than those who have swords.

 

[rbernie]

So let's accept Tom Ferrick's invitation and politely and professionally call/email the provided contact information and make these points to the people that spew this drivel. That has to be more effective than just posting it here and preaching to the choir.

tferrick@ phillynews.com

 

[rbernie]

Here's my letter:

I read your article In antigun fight, ATF is the pawn with interest. In fairness, however, I would respectfully suggest that you review the legislation in question before publicly commenting on it.

Neither of these bills removes or impedes the ability of the ATF to appropriately sanction any malperforming dealer, nor reduces the effectiveness of the nationwide instant background check. The pending legislation (specifically, HR 5029 and HR5005) proposes:

1) allowing the ATFE to sanction clerical errors on the part of gun dealers via civil penalties and/or license suspension without requiring that the ATFE either ignore the problems or resort to complete license revocation;
2) providing investigative guidelines for the ATFE that by your own columns' admission are currently lacking; and
3) streamlining but not diminishing the administrative processing associated with the instant 'Brady Bill' background checks.

Furthermore, at last look HR 5029 had over one hundred and thirty seven co-sponsors; this is hardly indicative of a special-interest-driven bill that is lacking in broad support. Suggesting that the NRA is leading the legislature around by the nose simply does not square up with the documented support for this proposed legislation within the House of Representatives.

I realize, given the language contained in your article, that you can see little redeeming value in firearms or licensed firearms dealers. I support your right to do so; each of us has the freedom to make that determination freely and independently. But, in my opinion, you still owe the city of Philadelphia the respect to report the facts as honestly and dispassionately as possible.

Respectfully,

rbernie

And the response:

thanks for your note.
i did read the bill itself.
and an analysis done by those who favor it.
personally, i oppose it.
also, as mite not have been point out, i am not a reporter.
I am a columnist, whose job is to take a stand.

<sigh>

 

[hammer4nc]

Ferrick is an ardent shill for the BradyCenter (Sarah Brady). One of their (Brady's) headline issues is pushing a "one handgun per month" bill in Pennsylvania. Ferrick's columns on gun issues track pretty well with Brady's press releases, including the agitprop vernacular ("lethal lou's", etc.).

Nice try, but I doubt he'll be swayed by logical arguments, or shamed in any way.

 

[raz-0]

Well if he's a columnist and he's supposed to take a stand, howabout registering your dislike of his stand with his employer. Perhaps request someone you like.

Heck perhaps not even mention guns or the second amendment. Just say you find him irksome, preachy, and don't like his writing and would like the paper to stop wasting the column inches giving you what you don't want.

 

[rbernie]

Nice try, but I doubt he'll be swayed by logical arguments, or shamed in any way.

I figured as such, which is why my letter also went to the General Editor and the 'Letters' email addresses.

howabout registering your dislike of his stand with his employer.

I live in Texas, and I did exactly that. How about some THR members from the Philly area take up the torch? It does lack a certain 'je ne sais quoi' when the complaints come from halfway across the country, and I suspect that local comments would be mo' useful.

 

[Autolycus]

Originally Posted by rbernie:

thanks for your note.
i did read the bill itself.
and an analysis done by those who favor it.
personally, i oppose it.
also, as mite not have been point out, i am not a reporter. I am a columnist, whose job is to take a stand.

Its funny a columnist would mispell might.

This guy is a sad puppet of the braby bunch.

 

[rbernie]

Its funny a columnist would mispell might.

There's a whole bunch of grammar and spelling crimes goin' on in that email. What I actually find disappointing is the glibness with which he reveals himself to be intellectually dishonest, both in terms of the legislation and in dissembling his responsibilities as a newspaper columnist.

Pathetic that a human capable of walking upright could be so, well, gutless.

 

[cracked junior]

i have a question. how does one handgun a month stop a criminal. is it possible to buy one like on september 30th, then buy another one on october 1st. because that would be a different month, but only a day apart.

 

[XLMiguel]

cracked junior - One gun/month laws generally mean at least 30 days between purchases, not just a new calendar month . YMMV

 

[loumarch]

Here is my latest response to Mr. Ferrick,

Dear Tom,

I see you're back on your anti-gun kick. I think you are misinformed. Click here http://www.gunfacts.info/ for the facts.

By the way, with criminals using guns more frequently, law abiding citizens need more guns, not less. I have the right, no make that the duty, to defend my family from all dangers.

I own a high volume restaurant and I am wary of the increase in home invasions. I purchase, and train with, different types of guns so I can be prepared for any type of threat to the health and safety of my family.

You write about how easy it was for you to purchase a gun. Why should it have been difficult? Are you a criminal? Bring an ex-con with you and see if the con clears the NICS check. You'll see the system works. Multiple purchases? Most gun shops that I frequent will not sell multiple guns in one transaction unless they know the buyer personally. Lou's Pawn shop was not a typical gun store. I agree 100% that Lou's should have been shut down. I'm happy lou's license was revoked because their operating procedures put a stain on all legally operated gun shops.

Read the facts and tell me how restricting law abiding citizens would help curb crime.

Lou Marchessani
Rosemont, PA

I've written him 4 times and have never received a response.