Here we go again.
A Seattle TV station has posted a story to their website linking some internal memos obtained from BATFE
Now these memo's predate the the BATFE website entry's we had found earlier.
BUT, now we have this letter dated Feb 2 2011
I spent almost an hour talking with a BATFE representative at SHOT show about this issue,
He would not go "on record" but did say that it was still ongoing and something would be released within a few weeks.
Now, here it is a few weeks later and we get this.
They are firearms, They are not firearms, They are toys, They are guns,
frankly, even I am getting confused.
I thought this part of the news article was particularly telling,
While ATF has ruled that guns like this are firearms, it appears to still be stinging from the criticism.
ATF refused to explain on camera what its ruling means to people who buy or possess these guns. The public records we received are heavily censored. Even those marked "media plan" are blacked-out.
Please, it would be great to know if the "thousands" of these toys
in the hands of American citizens are illegal or not.
A lot of people seem to think that if the GBBR they own is ruled
a automatic firearm that they will still be OK, that ATFE has bigger fish to fry and won't bother them.
For those people I would like to point you to this site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Olofson
in the hands of American citizens are illegal or not.
A lot of people seem to think that if the GBBR they own is ruled
a automatic firearm that they will still be OK, that ATFE has bigger fish to fry and won't bother them.
For those people I would like to point you to this site
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Olofson
This guy had a AR with worn out parts that went auto for three rounds then jammed,
he was sentenced to and is serving 30 month s in a federal prison.
As right or wrong in your eyes this may be, it is a very serious matter.
I am not a lawyer or legal council, I don't even own a GBBR, the only iron I have in this fight is
the fact that this issue is getting very little notice.
It could unwittingly make unknowing people into criminals in the eyes of BATFE.
Airsoft has yet to have any form of lobbying body or watchdog group
like real firearms have to protect our interests.Older posts with info on this subject
http://noairsoftforoldmen.blogspot.com/2010/11/and-now-ggbr-m4m16s-are-legal-again-ta.html
The disturbing part of the latest TV coverage is that the ATF has AGAIN not FULLY complied with the media's queries for information under FOIA or other requests...to receive BLACKED OUT DOCUMENTS, incomplete in their source or included information...and to see a "certain" ATF agent's name on the single complete statement (an agent involved in the original coverage of the Airsoft Outlet NW seizure story by a separate TV Station...and who also attempted ON CAMERA to insert a magazine into the airsoft M-4 BACKWARDS!!!) should have been a huge RED FLAG to the station that this is now less about Airsoft being converted to real guns, and more about the ATF trying to save face...AGAIN! Shame on all of us if we let this go without a fight! THUMPY...Great work TC!...OVER!
ReplyDeletethanks for the continued support and information tim!
ReplyDeleteFunny thing is this is only being brought up by the KING5 station in Seattle. The story references all old information with the exception of the supposed response from the Agent in Charge of the Seattle office. Which is not signed and looks more like KING5 made the document putting the seal on top. Are they (KING5) running a campaign to put airsoft in a bad light? Seattle BATFE office ruffling their feathers? Why has no one else (News Media) reported this supposed ruling in any part of the country. The ruling is still not on the BATFE website nor has an official statement on the ruling come from BATFE headquarters. Sounds like the Seattle BATFE office and Headquarters do not see the same thing. Thanks for keeping track of developments.
ReplyDeleteIt is currently only on KING5,
ReplyDeleteThat being said, it the scope of all things news, it is not a big story to most people.
Remember, Airsoft guns are TOYS, they are not weapons or even airguns. Money and time was spent on getting this declared as toys years ago. This means they fall under different regulations and also different agencies to enforce these regulations. The airsoft industry is very small, most people would ban us at the drop of a bb.