JPFO alert and some questions/thoughts thereon

[alan]

ALERT FROM JEWS FOR THE PRESERVATION OF FIREARMS OWNERSHIP
America's Aggressive Civil Rights Organization

February 19, 2007

JPFO ALERT: Classifying Your Firearms into Oblivion

In 2003, Akins Group Inc. developed the Akins Accelerator,
a bumpfire stock for a Ruger 10/22 that can produce about
650 rounds/minute. The company received classification
letters from the BATFE agreeing that the stock was not a
firearm and therefore unregulated.

Akins performed approximately 18 months of testing, built
injection molds based on the results, and began offering
the Accelerator to the public in December of 2006.

True to form, the BATFE suddenly decided that the plastic
stock was in fact a machine gun. The considerable time,
effort, and of course money Akins invested into the project
has been rendered essentially useless. You can read the
entire saga at http://www.firefaster.com/documentation.html .

As our regular readers are aware, this isn't the first time
that the BATFE has changed its mind on a classification.
Our "Boot the BATFE" page at
http://www.jpfo.org/bootbatfe.htm has several ATF
Reconsideration letters listed.

It's important to realize what this really means. The ATF
tells a manufacturer that a particular product is legal and
acceptable. Based on this, the manufacturer invests large
sums of money to produce the product, and even begins
distributing the product. AFTER the money is spent, AFTER
the inventory has been built, AFTER customers have
purchased the product, the BATFE says, "Oops, just kidding.
It's illegal."

Now the manufacturer has wasted valuable capital and his
customers are in possession of products that could get them
fined or jailed! All because the BATFE changed its mind.

It gets worse.

The BATFE is declaring by fiat that this product or that is
"illegal". There's no legislation involved. No
Congressional hearings. No oversight at all. Just a
bureaucrat stating, "Yeah, this is illegal." Your only
recourse is to beg them to reconsider again (and how likely
is that?)

If the BATFE is reclassifying plastic rifle stocks to be
machine guns, what's to stop them from reclassifying
semi-autos as machine guns? After all, your semi-auto has
"characteristics and features of a machine gun" (the
BATFE's favorite phrase lately). And if a _shoelace_ can be
classified a machine gun (yes, really!
http://www.jpfo.org/shoestring.jpg), then why not?

Here is yet more proof -- as if we didn't have enough --
that the BATFE is an unelected rogue agency run amok. It is
a law unto itself; as many people have found, merely
criticizing it can result in dire consequences.

If you haven't yet supported the making of our film The
Gang -- a film with the express goal of helping to abolish
the BATFE and end all federal control and regulation of
firearms --, why not? We MUST bring down Leviathan now,
before our right to keep and bear arms is a faded memory.
Go to www.jpfo.org/thegang.htm or www.thegangmovie.com for
more information.

- The Liberty Crew

==================================================
==========

JPFO mirror site: http://www.jpfo.net

Posters thoughts/questions

1. What practical, real world purpose is or might there be for this BUMP FIRING business, which whole it might sound impressive (machinegun like), leaves open the following. Could the BUMPFIRER likely hit anythng that they were shooting at, except via accdent?

2. Exactly whom might it be that died, leaving the BATFE boss?

3. The 650 rounds/minute mentioned at the beginning of the JPFO message is, I suspect, a CYCLIC RATE OF FIRE, or put otherwise, a theoritical rate of fire, not a rate of fire actually attainable or attained. The foregoing leads me to the following question. What Price Glory?

 

[Soybomb]

1. What practical, real world purpose is or might there be for this BUMP FIRING business, which whole it might sound impressive (machinegun like), leaves open the following. Could the BUMPFIRER likely hit anythng that they were shooting at, except via accdent?

Its just a 22....its probably more fun than practical but if people can keep 9mm smg's on the paper I certainly can't imagine it being a problem in a 22.

 

[Zundfolge]

2. Exactly whom might it be that died, leaving the BATFE boss?

The Constitution, the Republic ... pretty much what made America America.

 

[alan]

Zundfolge responded to one of my questions with the following:
Quote:
2. Exactly whom might it be that died, leaving the BATFE boss?
The Constitution, the Republic ... pretty much what made America America.

--------------------------

Now that he mentioned it, he might be more correct than many realize, sad to note.

 

[DMK]

I'm trying to clear the cobwebs from my memory of high school government lessons here, so please bear with me.

Which branch of the government is the BATF in, Executive, Legislative, or Judicial?

Do they have the constitutional authority to make or even interpret law?

 

[alan]

DMK writes:

I'm trying to clear the cobwebs from my memory of high school government lessons here, so please bear with me.

Which branch of the government is the BATF in, Executive, Legislative, or Judicial?

Do they have the constitutional authority to make or even interpret law?

--------------------

BATFE is part of The Executive branch, unless I'm mistaken.

As to their authority, constitutional or otherwise, legislative in this case, the particular legislative POS causing problems is The Gun Control Act of 1968, an amendment to the National Firearms Act of 1934, which unfortunately, the USSC in 1939 (Miller Case) failed to declare unconstitutional.

GCA ‘68 says, among other things that “…the Secretary or His Delegate (nowadays that's spelled BATFE) shall promulgate regulations ...." It is from this collection of weasel words that all manner of problems have come.

Obviously, we badly need some signifcant changes to the federal statutes, changes in the direction of improvement, repeal of such trash as the 1934 Act and the several amendments thereto, along with the tossing of a bunch of "regultations". Unfortunately, the needed action has not come forth from The Congress, under the control of either Republicans or Democrats. The Congress has also yet to seriously check the strange antics of the BATFE, the latest of several names that that agency has operated under.

Will the present congress help the side of constitutional right as opposed to bureaucratic abuse? One can only speculate, however I doubt it, sad to note.

 

[DMK]

BATFE is part of The Executive branch, unless I'm mistaken.

That's what I was thinking. Yet they seem to sometimes act like a member of the judicial branch.

“…the Secretary or His Delegate (nowadays that's spelled BATFE) shall promulgate regulations ...."

Interesting word, 'promulgate'.

I don't see how it has come to be synonymous with 'interpret', 'define' or 'rule'. Which is what the BATFE seems to be allowed to do. It was my understanding that only courts could do such things.

From www.dictionary.com:

prom·ul·gate –verb (used with object), -gat·ed, -gat·ing.
1. to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation (a law, decree of a court, etc.).
2. to set forth or teach publicly (a creed, doctrine, etc.).
[Origin: 1520–30; < L prōmulgātus, ptp. of prōmulgāre to promulge; see -ate1]

—Synonyms:
1. announce, issue, declare.
2. advocate.

 

[alan]

DMK:

Item 1 in definitions seems close.

Itappears to me that what The Congress did was essentially to delegate to a faceless bureaucracy, their legislative power/authority. Of course, The Congress has done similarly in/with regard to things having nothing to do with firearms, which brings us to the following, possibly interesting question, a question that I lack the knowledge to answer properly.

Where in The Constitution is The Congress so empowered, if in fact they anywhere are?

 

[DMK]

what The Congress did was essentially to delegate to a faceless bureaucracy, their legislative power/authority. Of course, The Congress has done similarly in/with regard to things having nothing to do with firearms, which brings us to the following, possibly interesting question, a question that I lack the knowledge to answer properly.

Where in The Constitution is The Congress so empowered, if in fact they anywhere are?

Yes, exactly. I'd like to know how that is legal (and I'm not sure how to research it).

In this country we are supposed to have a system of checks an balances to prevent such things. Most feel that this is only to prevent abuses by the president (which it certainly is), however, it's my belief that it's to prevent "small kingdoms" as well.

For example, how is it legal for a law enforcement organization to define a law and then go enforce it? That would be like a Sheriff setting a tax on a roadway, then ticketing anyone who passed.

The only thing they apparently can't do is judge a verdict since we still have a right to trial by jury.

 

[alan]

DMK:

Re your question: Yes, exactly. I'd like to know how that is legal (and I'm not sure how to research it), I would think that the services of a good back office lawyer or legal researcher would be appropriate. I don't qualify on either count.

You might have heard the old saw about someone knowing just enough about something to get into trouble. Re the law, I don't really know even that much.