Category: Cops

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Cops

NYPD Detective Thomas Byrnes Legendary Detective Was Effective and Controversial

Photograph of New York Detective Thomas Byrnes

 

 Detective Thomas Byrnes. public domain
by

Robert McNamara

Updated January 04, 2018
Thomas Byrnes became one of the most famous crime fighters of the late 19th century by supervising the newly created detective division of the New York Police Department. Known for his relentless drive to innovate, Byrnes was widely credited for pioneering the use of modern police tools such as mugshots.
Byrnes was also known to get very rough with criminals, and openly boasted of having invented a harsh interrogation technique he called “the third degree.” And though Byrnes was widely lauded at the time, some of his practices would be unacceptable in the modern era.
After attaining widespread celebrity for his war on criminals, and becoming chief of the entire New York Police Department, Byrnes came under suspicion during corruption scandals of the 1890s. A famous reformer brought in to clean up the department, future president Theodore Roosevelt, forced Byrnes to resign.
It was never proven that Byrnes had been corrupt. But it was evident that his friendships with some of the wealthiest New Yorkers helped him amass a large fortune while receiving a modest public salary.
Despite ethical questions, there is no question Byrnes had an impact on the city. He was involved with solving major crimes for decades, and his police career aligned with historic events from the New York Draft Riots to well-publicized crimes of the Gilded Age.

Early Life of Thomas Byrnes

Byrnes was born in Ireland in 1842 and came to America with his family as an infant. Growing up in New York City, he received a very basic education, and at the outbreak of the Civil War he was working at a manual trade.
He volunteered in the spring of 1861 to serve in a unit of Zouaves organized by Col. Elmer Ellsworth, who would become famous as the first great Union hero of the war. Byrnes served in the war for two years, and returned home to New York and joined the police force.
As a rookie patrolman, Byrnes showed considerable bravery during the New York Draft Riots in July 1863. He reportedly saved the life of a superior officer, and recognition of his bravery helped him rise in the ranks.

Police Hero

In 1870 Byrnes became a captain of the police force and in that capacity he began investigating noteworthy crimes. When the flamboyant Wall Street manipulator Jim Fisk was shot in January 1872, it was Byrnes who questioned both victim and assassin.
The fatal shooting of Fisk was a front-page story in the New York Times on January 7, 1872, and Byrnes received prominent mention. Byrnes had gone to the hotel where Fisk lay wounded, and took a statement from him before he died.
The Fisk case brought Byrnes into contact with an associate of Fisk, Jay Gould, who would become one of the richest men in America. Gould realized the value of having a good friend on the police force and he began feeding stock tips and other financial advice to Byrnes.
The robbery of the Manhattan Savings Bank in 1878 attracted enormous interest, and Byrnes received nationwide attention when he solved the case. He developed a reputation for possessing great detective skill, and was placed in charge of the detective bureau of the New York Police Department.
 The Third Degree
Byrnes became widely known as “Inspector Byrnes,” and was viewed as a legendary crime fighter. The writer Julian Hawthorne, the son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, published a series of novels billed as being “From the Diary of Inspector Byrnes.” In the public mind, the glamorized version of Byrnes took precedence over whatever the reality might be.
While Byrnes did indeed solve many crimes, his techniques would certainly be considered highly questionable today. He regaled the public with tales of how he coerced criminals into confessing after he outwitted them. Yet there’s little doubt that confessions were also extracted with beatings.
Byrnes proudly took credit for an intense form of interrogation he termed “the third degree.” According to his account, he would confront the suspect with the details of his crime, and thereby trigger a mental breakdown and confession.
In 1886 Byrnes published a book entitled Professional Criminals of America. In its pages, Byrnes detailed the careers of notable thieves and provided detailed descriptions of notorious crimes. While the book was ostensibly published to help fight crime, it also did much to bolster the reputation of Byrnes as America’s top cop.
 Downfall
By the 1890s Byrnes was famous and considered a national hero. When the financier Russell Sage was attacked in a bizarre bombing in 1891, it was Byrnes who solved the case (after first taking the bomber’s severed head to be identified by the recuperating Sage). Press coverage of Byrnes was typically very positive, but trouble lay ahead.
In 1894 the Lexow Commission, a New York State government committee, began investigating corruption in the New York Police Department. Byrnes, who had amassed a personal fortune of $350,000 while earning a police salary of $5,000 a year, was questioned aggressively about his wealth.
He explained that friends on Wall Street, including Jay Gould, had been giving him stock tips for years. No evidence was ever made public proving Byrnes had broken the law, but his career came to an abrupt end in the spring of 1895.
The new head of the board which oversaw the New York Police Department, future president Theodore Roosevelt, pushed Byrnes out of his job. Roosevelt personally disliked Byrnes, whom he considered a braggart.
Brynes opened a private detective agency which gained clients from Wall Street firms. He died of cancer on May 7, 1910. Obituaries in the New York City newspapers generally looked back nostalgically on his glory years of the 1870s and 1880s, when he dominated the police department and was widely admired as “Inspector Byrnes.”
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A Victory! Cops

Fighting Back by KIM DU TOIT

I see this becoming a trend, and not just in Britishland:

This is the moment have-a-go-heroes swooped on thieves allegedly loading up their cars with stolen groceries.

Video shows three men throwing shopping into their cars in a Tesco’s car park in Waltham Abbey, Essex, yesterday. The trio are seen hastily shoving groceries into a black Volkswagen polo from a shopping trolley before jumping into the car.

But before they drive away a group of men storm the vehicle and start demanding the alleged thieves get out of the car. They open the doors and begin to pull the alleged shoplifters out of the car as they attempt to fight back.

Shocked witnesses are heard saying “call the police” as a Tesco security worker arrives and attempts to open the boot.

The men manage to get the alleged thieves out of the car — and a struggle to restrain the men ensues. One of then alleged thieves attempts to headbutt one of the men and ends up falling to the ground.

Eventually the rozzers put in an appearance, and in a shocking move, arrest the thieves and not the men who intervened (this is the UK, after all).

And as I never tire of saying:  We do not “take the law into our own hands” when we do stuff like this, for the simple reason that the law never left our hands;  we simply deputize its enforcement to agents of the State.

But when those agents are not on the scene or unwilling to do their duty, it is our civic duty to intervene.

Frankly, if I’d been involved and some punk tried to head-butt me, he’d end up in fucking hospital.  Believe it.

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All About Guns Cops

Multiple Goblins by KIM DU TOIT CRIME

Here’s a little something that can absolutely be laid at the door of the “let ’em all in” (a.k.a. the Biden border policy) phenomenon:

A sheriff in Michigan is sounding the alarm over a rise in gangs of illegal aliens getting into the United States for the sole purpose of burglarizing Americans.

Oakland County, Michigan Sheriff Michael Bouchard, as well as other law enforcement agencies across the U.S., is warning that illegal aliens from the southern border are burglarizing members of their communities at an increasing rate.

“These are transnational gangs that are involved in this that come from South America, looking to do burglaries and violate our communities, not just in Oakland County but across America,” Bouchard said.

The Brits have been experiencing this for well over a decade, as well-organized criminal gangs (especially from Eastern Europe) have not only been expanding drug- and prostitute-related activities, but creating gangs of smash-and-grab thieves and burglary rings.  Of course, this was facilitated by the EU policy of open borders and the reluctance of Brit politicians to do anything meaningful about it — which has been mirrored most recently in the U.S.A. by feckless politicians like Biden and his lickspittle accomplices in Homeland Security, INS and even our alleged “law enforcement” officials like prosecutors and the Fibbies.

Of course, the thieving activities of organized gangs has also been facilitated by crime groups such as Black Lives Matter — a local criminal organization given free rein by both state- and local governments — so it’s not just furriners.

This has been especially true in urban areas where a gang of say twenty thugs can crash a retail establishment and loot the place utterly without too much fear of arrest, let alone incarceration.  So far, the response has just been that the affected retailer groups have shut their inner-city stores, which is fine for chains like Target or Wal-Mart, but not so fine for single-store owners who have three options:  change the format from self-service to counter-service operation;  close the store and lose their livelihood, or (in some memorable cases) employ armed guards to ensure that such raids will be met with force.

Of course, where the last of those three courses has been adopted, theft has dropped precipitously or disappeared altogether.  Which brings me back to burglary.

Most lower-middle or working-class houses offer poor pickings to any organized crime gangs simply because there’s not much to steal and the game isn’t worth the candle.  Likewise, ultra-wealthy households are often protected by good alarm systems or even armed guards because those homeowners can afford such measures.

What’s left is the vulnerable middle- and upper-middle classes who may have some stuff that justifies an armed invasion, and not the means to protect it adequately.

Expect therefore that this kind of larcenous activity is going to grow in more affluent suburbs (like, maybe, Plano TX).

And you all know what I’m going to say about that:

…and:

  …etc.

If enough of these assholes are killed trying to break into suburban homes, it may make them a little less keen to try it.

Just a thought.

However, if you live in an area where wasting a couple choirboys is going to get you arrested rather than congratulated by the local cops, you may need to reconsider your living arrangements.

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All About Guns Cops Fieldcraft

Massad Ayoob “Shoot to Live” Gunfight Survival

https://youtu.be/sXuBRxPYIoE

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Cops

Is An Expedited Death Penalty the Best Way to Stop Mass Shooters? by LARRY Z

 

At the Republican debate on Wednesday night, former Vice President Mike Pence posited a solution to curtail mass killings in the U.S.: implementing an expedited death penalty for convicted active shooters.

“I’m someone that believes that justice delayed is justice denied. … As a grandfather of three beautiful little girls, I’m sick and tired of the mass shootings happening in the United States of America,” Pence said.

“And if I’m president of the United States, I’m going to go to the Congress of the United States, and we’re going to pass a federal expedited death penalty for anyone involved in a mass shooting, so they will meet their fate in months, not years,” he continued.

Pence then remarked on the Parkland tragedy, calling it “unconscionable” that the perpetrator of the Marjory Stoneman-Douglas High School massacre did not get to meet his maker. Instead, the assailant received a life sentence.

“That’s not justice. We have to mete out justice and send a message to the would-be killers that you are not going to live out your days behind bars,” Pence said.

Mike Pence at the podium of the 2nd GOP debate.
“That’s not justice. We have to mete out justice and send a message to the would-be killers that you are not going to live out your days behind bars,” Pence said. (Photo: Fox Business)

SEE ALSO: Newsom Goes Nuts! Signs Bevy of Anti-Gun Bills Into Laws — 11% Tax on Firearms, Gun-Free Zones, More!

Pence’s statements on the hallowed stage of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., certainly resonated far and wide.

Newsom Weighs In On Using Death Penalty to Deter Mass Shooters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom was apoplectic after hearing the former vice president double down on his position.

“Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic,” Newsom told MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow. “He’s been saying this now for months. I cringe every time I hear this.”

Newsom argued that many of these killers don’t plan to see the light of day following their attacks.

“What a joke, that that somehow is a deterrent,” chided Newsom. “Number one killer of our kids is guns, and that was a solution tonight? That was a debate for the next president of the United States on how to deal with mass shootings? I don’t want to say disqualifying. But honestly, for a former vice president, pathetic.”

Newsom, of course, believes the best way to end mass shootings is to roll back the rights of law-abiding gun owners via restrictions on concealed carry (more gun-free zones), “sin taxes” on firearms and ammunition, sweeping bans on commonly owned firearms and accessories, and fallible technologies like microstamping.

In your estimation, who has the better plan? Mike Pence or Gov. Newsom?

_______________________________________________________Now I am no fan of Pence but this time he is spot on compared to my Governor Greasehead. That & I am all in favor or recycling i.e. hanging. In thats its cheaper and the rope can be used over and over. Grumpy

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Cops Well I thought it was funny!

K9 Accused Of Stealing Fellow Officer’s Sandwich

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All About Guns Cops You have to be kidding, right!?!

South Africa: Using Only Pistols, Local Militia Stops 15 Armed Robbers with AK-47s Who Blew Up Armored Truck

4 armed robbers were killed by local volunteers after blowing up an armored car and killing the driver

On Thursday, 9/21, local farmer militiamen in South Africa stopped a gang of 15 armed robbers armed with AK-47s who had just robbed an armored car, killing the driver. The local volunteers apprehended the fugitives after a high-speed chase, including a dangerous Mozambican criminal wanted for murder of a police officer.

The robbery took place in Hoedspruit (Hat Springs) outside Polokwane in Limpopo Province, which were named Pietersburg and North Transvaal by the original settlers before the campaign to ethnically cleanse the Afrikaner language and culture from South Africa.

Heavily armed attacks on armored cars are so common in South Africa they are known as Cash-in-Transit heists (CIT).

“15 robbers armed with automatic rifles carried out a CIT heist in Hoedspruit, killing the Fidelity driver,“ reports YouTuber Willem Petzer.

According to police spokesman Colonel Matimba Maluleke, the suspects shot at the escort vehicle before disarming the guards (a driver and crew) of their official rifle and pistol. “Unfortunately the two guards were shot at and sustained injuries that resulted in the death of the driver. The suspects then pursued the armoured vehicle while shooting at it until it stopped.

The driver of the armoured vehicle and his crew were allegedly ordered to disembark the vehicle, disarmed of two firearms and chased into the nearby bushes. The suspects used explosives to blast the vehicle and made off with an undisclosed amount of money,” Maluleke said.

“A community crime watch group, Hoedspruit Farmwatch, was alerted to the incident and went in pursuit of the robbers, putting obstacles on the road to prevent their escape. A shootout ensued,” Petzer writes.

“The Hoedspruit Farmwatch volunteers blocked the roads outside of Hoedspruit with boulders after they were alerted of the attack. A skirmish, lasting about 20 minutes, ensued at one of the blockades between the robbers and the farmers, who were armed with pistols. The farmers managed to kill 4 of the robbers and wound 3. No farmer was hurt. The other suspects fled into nearby bushes after the shootout on foot.”

“The Hoedspruit farmwatch tracked them down using their dogs and arrested the rest of them, recovering all the money from the heist. Great job by the farmers!” Petzer writes.

Hoedspruit Farmwatch denied that South African Police Service officers had fled the scene.

Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the community protection team “returned fire and when the dust settled, four suspects were fatally shot, one injured and arrested while others managed to evade arrest by running into nearby bushes,” The Citizen reports.

The fleeing duo was “arrested while travelling to Acornhoek in a taxi following an intense search mission by the Hoedspruit Farmwatch, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and a chopper,” Ledwaba stated.

“One of the arrested suspects is a highly wanted Mozambican suspect who has been on the run for some time for a spate of crimes he committed in the Free State in 2022 including the murder of a police officer. The injured suspects were found in possession of suspected stolen money, a rifle and a pistol,” the police spokesman said.

Several community safety organizations met Sept. 19 in Centurion to join forces to to curb farm attacks and rural crime, including AfriForum, Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), Transvaal Agricultual Union TLU SA, AgriSA, Forum Sekuriteit, Sakeliga, the South African Special Forces Association (SASFA) and the Association for South African Military veterans, AfriForum reported.

“AfriForum is excited about the fact that all these organisations are willing to join hands and make a difference against the wave of farm attacks and increasing rural crime. The SAPS itself has already admitted that it cannot fulfil its mandate, and this is obvious when one looks at the chaotic state of crime in the country. It is now time for communities to safeguard themselves,” said Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s spokesperson for Community Safety.

According to Dr. Theo de Jager, executive director of SAAI, the different organizations, civil structures and agricultural unions have feet on the ground when it comes to rural security: “Some organisations have farm watches in remote areas or camera systems, radio networks, emergency centres or response units. Others post guards, patrol national roads or establish and manage private fire services. Ultimately, everyone is in the same industry and has one goal in mind – to secure communities where the government can no longer do it,” said De Jager.

AfriForum’s Security Head Jacques Broodryk on Farm Murders:

 

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All About Guns Cops Fieldcraft

LESSONS FROM A COP-KILLER WRITTEN BY MASSAD AYOOB

Cop Talk Colt

 

Colt 1877 DA was a favorite of Hardin’s by the time of his death. It ain’t about the guns, it’s about timeless human dynamics.

We can’t expect to defeat enemies we don’t understand. It’s why LAPD’s officer survival guru Rich Wemmer interviewed cop-killers in prison, and why Dennis Anderson and Charles Remberg did the same for their Calibre Press Street Survival book and seminars.

There’s little new in the concept, and an often ignored source of research are incidents from relatively long ago. In his letters and particularly his autobiography, John Wesley Hardin bragged about how he killed policemen in the third quarter of the 19th Century. The cunning ploys he used remain lethally dangerous to cops today.

In his own words, Hardin — a racist anti-authoritarian who hated African-Americans and lawmen with equal venom — detailed how he murdered black Texas State Police officer Green Perrymore in September, 1871. Hardin wrote the arresting officer had him at gunpoint when “He said, ‘Give me those pistols.’ I said ‘All right,’ and handed him the pistols, handle foremost. One of the pistols turned a somerset in my hand and went off … and (sent) him sprawling on the floor with a bullet through his head, quivering in blood.”

 

cop talk book

The Last Gunfighter is the most useful Hardin biography Mas has found.

 

Hidden Second Weapons

 

With 41 dead men attributed to his tally, the one murder for which Hardin was convicted and served hard time was the death of Deputy Charles Webb in 1874. Hardin wrote, “… I told him my pistol was behind the bar and threw open my coat to show him. But he did not know I had a good one under my vest.” That was the one he used very shortly thereafter to shoot the deputy in the brain. Hardin was arrested for it years later — leading to the following.

Hardin bragged he had killed multiple officers with their own guns he grabbed when he caught them off guard. But at least one lawman was savvy enough to see that coming and save his own life, and that of his brother officer.

It happened in 1877. Texas Rangers had arrested Hardin on a train in Pensacola, Florida for the murder of Deputy Webb. The lawmen had killed Hardin’s accomplice, Jim Mann, and pistol-whipped Hardin into submission in the course of that arrest.

Captain John Armstrong and Special Detective Jack Armstrong were transporting the handcuffed Hardin to jail and trial. Like so many psychopaths, Hardin used his charming personality to lull his intended victims off guard. Here, in a letter to his wife, Hardin explained how he planned to escape:

“Jack and Armstrong were now getting intimate with me, and when dinner came I suggested the necessity of removing my cuffs and they agreed to do so. Armstrong unlocked the jewelry and started to turn around, exposing his six-shooter to me, when Jack jerked him around and pulled his pistol at the same time. ‘Look out,’ he said, ‘John will kill us and escape.’ Of course, I laughed at him and ridiculed the idea.

It was really the very chance I was looking for, but Jack had taken the play away just before it got ripe. I intended to jerk Armstrong’s pistol, kill Jack Duncan or make him throw up his hands. I could have made him unlock my shackles, or get the key away from his dead body and do it myself. I could then have easily made my escape. That time never came again.”

cop hardin

Hardin: This cop-killer wrote an autobiography, The Life of John Wesley Hardin. It’s harder to defeat enemies you don’t understand.

Constant Vigilance

As we look sadly upon such recent events as the murder of Wyandotte County, Kansas Deputies Patrick Rohrer and Theresa King in June, 2018, slain when a suspect they were transporting gained control of a police weapon, we are reminded this sort of thing is a continuing concern. Security holsters and weapon retention training have improved the situation, but constant vigilance and keeping our guard up remain keys to survival.

The Letters of John Wesley Hardin by Roy and Jo Ann Stamps, The Last Gunfighter: John Wesley Hardin by Richard Marohn, and The Life of John Wesley Hardin Written By Himself are all compelling resources, available through Amazon or your local library. They remind us homicidal gunmen aren’t about AR15’s or modern trends. They’re about timeless human dynamics, and the more we know about how these events have happened in the past, the better we can prepare to keep them from recurring in the future.

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All About Guns Cops

Mr. Darwin would of approved of this!

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All About Guns Cops Gun Info for Rookies

ATF Universal Background Check Rule Receives Thousands of Identical Supporting Comments by John Crump

Act Now iStock-flipfine 530935099.jpg
Act Now iStock-flipfine 530935099.jpg

AmmoLand News partnered with data scientist Wes Scoggin to analyze the public comments on the proposed rule that would redefine who the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) considers a “gun dealer.”

The new rule is a backdoor to universal background checks. Anyone who sells a gun and makes a profit could potentially require a federal firearms license (FFL). Also, the ATF could consider anyone selling more than one of a single type of firearm to be a gun dealer. The ATF claims that the Bi-partisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) gives them the authority to change the rules surrounding dealers.

The BSCA was a bill passed through Congress with the support of Republicans such as John Cornyn and was signed into law by President Joe Biden. It has been the centerpiece of the President’s gun control agenda. Republicans ignored warnings from pro-gun groups that the Democrats would exploit the law.

The comment section of previously proposed ATF rules has been overwhelming pro-gun. This time, support of the proposed rule is lopsided in favor of the ATF change. Currently, over 96% of the comments implore the Government to enact the new rule.

96% of The Comments Support The Rule

The disparity between the comments for the proposed rule and those against the new rule could be for a few different reasons. One reason could be that gun owners do not believe their comments will make a difference. Although a great majority of public comments on the last two ATF rules opposed the changes, the ATF ignored many of the concerns and enacted new restrictions on the rights of Americans.

Mr. Scoggin and AmmoLand News investigated the comments to see why the statistics are so lopsided in favor of the new rule. The discovery shows that the vast majority of the comments favoring the ATF proposed rule were identical.

We tracked down the text of the comments to an Astroturf campaign by Brady United. Ninety-eight percent of the comments backing the change read:

“I strongly support the proposed rule to ensure that individuals who are ‘engaged in the business’ of selling firearms are licensed, thus requiring them to complete background checks for all firearm sales and maintain records of those transactions, and that dealers who have lost their licenses may no longer sell firearms to the public. A recent study found that more than 1 in 5 gun sales in the U.S. are conducted without a background check, amounting to millions of off-the-books gun transfers annually; many of these transactions are facilitated by individuals who profit from the repetitive sale of firearms yet avoid the necessary oversight required of licensed dealers.

“This is a public health and safety issue, and I urge the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to finalize the rule in order to prevent firearm transfers to prohibited purchasers and ensure that individuals who are selling guns for profit are licensed, regulated, and engage in responsible business practices.”

Brady’s fastaction Campaign
Spike After The Brady Astroturf Campaign

The anti-gun group launched an email campaign on September 9, which coincides with the bump to the pro-gun control comments.

The email contains a link that allows anyone on its mailing list to submit a comment to the Federal Register by just filling out their name and clicking a single button. Brady runs the campaign through a website plugin called “fastaction.” The whole process takes the user less than 30 seconds to complete.

“It seems that this go-round that the anti-gun organizations are showing up early to flood the comments on the new ATF docket,” Scoggin told AmmoLand. “With their ‘fastaction’ branded one-click comment scheme, it would seem there is an effort to outpace any opposing comments to the rule change.

 

There seemed to be an emerging trend at the end of last year’s public comment window for the Frame and Brace dockets. We saw a spike in what appeared to be canned responses from these same groups, and that seems to be the case from the very beginning of this docket posting last year in the gun-related docket comment periods that have accelerated from the beginning of the comment window.”

The rule will most likely happen no matter what the final statistics show. The danger of not commenting is that the Biden Administration will exploit the lopsidedness of the comments to argue in court that most Americans support the change. Even though interest balancing is supposed to be a thing of the past after the Bruen decision, judges might still be subconsciously or even consciously persuaded by the statistics.

Not all hope is lost. The comment period is still open, and gun owners can make their voices heard. AmmoLand News strongly encourages its readers to send a message to the ATF and the Biden Administration that the rule should not go into effect. We might not be able to stop the change, but we can take away a talking point from the anti-gun side and prevent the Brady Astroturf campaign from succeeding in cooking the books.

AmmoLand has prepared a comment that readers can submit to the ATF. If you choose to write your own comment, remember to stick to the facts, as they are always on gun owners’ side.

“I strongly oppose the proposed rule that redefines who is “engaged in the business” of selling firearms. The new rule will burden American gun owners by creating a grey area where they can inadvertently break the law.

 

The new requirement circumvents Congress by creating a de facto universal background check rule. Congress has chosen to leave background check laws for private gun sales to the state governments. This rule will override the authority of the states with overburdensome federal regulations and strip state’s rights.

 

The regulation will not make us any safer. The vast majority of guns used in crimes are stolen. States that have enacted universal background checks did not see any reduction of crimes committed with firearms. I strongly encourage the government to work on real solutions to solve the epidemic of violent crime and stop using firearms as a scapegoat for failed policies.”

About John Crump

John is a NRA instructor and a constitutional activist. John has written about firearms, interviewed people of all walks of life, and on the Constitution. John lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and sons and can be followed on Twitter at @crumpyss, or at www.crumpy.com.