JPFO Alerts
Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Inc.
P.O. Box 270143
Hartford, WI 53027
Phone (800) 869-1884
Fax (425) 451-3959
October 28, 2005
Congress Confirms Lack of ATF Testing Standards
GUN OWNERS, 1 - ATF, 0
MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN THE FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTSWe're proud to announce a major breakthrough in the long battle to curb the abuses of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
The Congressional Research Service (CRS), an arm of the U.S. Congress, has issued a memo telling the world what we've always said (http://www.jpfo.org/batfearticles.htm): that ATF "experts" use arbitrary, made-up standards when they bring charges against gun owners and testify against us in court.
You can read the CRS report here: http://www.jpfo.org/ATFguntests.pdf
Read it carefully. Notice something important. Although the CRS did an investigation of its own, it relied heavily on information that came straight from gun-maker Len Savage and JPFO.
THIS REPORT ALMOST GOT BURIED!
Although JPFO does not lobby Congress or urge anyone else to, JPFO's work and Len's was instrumental in bringing this report into the world. We're proud of that fact.
But YOUR work was instrumental, too, if you were one of the many Americans who asked their representatives to get a copy of the ATF's testing procedures manual.
No such ATF manual exists. One after one, at gun owners' urging, congressmen asked the CRS to get the manual. The CRS asked the ATF to produce the manual. And they hit a wall.
Then something ominous happened. For several weeks, the CRS, urged on by a frantic Justice Department, planned to bury this information.
Why? Because these revelations could potentially overturn hundreds, even thousands, of criminal prosecutions of innocent gun owners, going back decades.
But YOU kept pushing. And you did it on your own.
Finally the CRS had no choice but to reveal the truth: the ATF simply "makes it up as they go along."
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
The CRS memo changes nothing by itself. It has no legal force. But it is the first light Congress has shone on the ATF in 23 years. It is a _beginning_. It is a tool concerned gun owners -- and defense attorneys -- can use.
It's also a demonstration of the truth of two well-known quotations about the power of the grassroots.
"When I feel the heat, I see the light." -- Sen. Everett Dirksen
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that can." -- Margaret Mead
Now, what the future holds is, in part, up to you. Take action!
1) READ the CRS report.
2) SHARE IT. Circulate the link to it on email lists. Post the link on your blog. Let the world know. Think of two dozen -- or a hundred -- friends who need to see the report and share it with them.
3) ASK QUESTIONS. "How can I get more gun-rights groups involved in this?" "When is Congress going to curb the ATF?" "What can I do about it?" "What should ALL gun owners do about it?" "What can defense lawyers do with this report?" "Do I know any lawyers or abused gun owners who should get a copy of this?"
4) BUILD FORCES to demand that this report be acted upon and not ignored.
The CRS report isn't dramatic. The language is calm and legalistic. It has no force in law. The drama comes when this report inspires OUTRAGE and ACTION.
Thanks to Len Savage, JPFO, and a few hundred gun owners, you now have proof that backs what abused gun owners have been shouting all these years.
Now ... run with it.
If American gun owners take this memo and demand action upon it, this little report will be bigger than the recent pro-gun vote in Brazil, bigger than forcing FEMA to allow firearms into refugee settlements. This has the potential to lead to the dismantling of one of the worst agencies of the federal government.
Even if it doesn't lead to the end of the ATF, it could still stop the ruin of thousands of gun owners' lives and the abuse of millions of gun owners' rights.
In a corollary to Everett Dirksen's famous remark, we always say "Attack their pension to get their attention." ATF agents are just working men and women who want to make a living and retire comfortably. Threatening their security is the best way to force them to behave.
And make no mistake. Despite the polite language, the revelations in this report are a major threat to ATF power.
Now ... our next step is to make sure the nobody tolerates ATF abuses. We must keep the light shining on the CRS report until every defense lawyer, judge, and leader in the land is aware of it.
Then we must absolutely refuse to tolerate anyone who tolerates ATF abuses.
Finally, after decades, WE, the American gun owners, are in a position to take initiative and control.
Will you stand with JPFO and Len Savage? Or will you let the ATF get away with its abuses when the power to stop them has finally been placed in your hands? Your freedom is up to you.
The Liberty Crew