Outlaw federal agency BATFE continues to ignore the law of the land. Here is an update from GOA.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008 Gun owners across the nation are still rejoicing over the Supreme Court decision that struck down portions of the DC gun ban as unconstitutional. But the Heller decision has also signaled the beginning of a new major assault by the anti-gun left. Make no mistake, the anti-gun lobby is not going quietly into the night. They are absolutely rabid over this decision -- and their friends in Congress are in a strong position to legislate away those gun freedoms which the Supreme Court has affirmed. In the meantime, agencies like the federal BATFE (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) appear to have no intention, whatsoever, of stopping their attacks on law-abiding gun owners, gun dealers and manufacturers. In GOA's newsletter which recently landed in mailboxes (The Gun Owners, August 18), we detailed the lengths to which the BATFE is going to trample the rights of gun owners and dealers. From using paid "informants" to provide false testimony, to physically altering firearms to turn them into "machine guns," to abusing and harassing mom and pop gun shops who cannot afford to legally defend themselves, this agency appears not only to have little or no regards for the rights of citizens, but is clearly willing even to ignore the rulings of the Supreme Court. As you know, Gun Owners is helping to defend David Olofson, a recent victim of BATFE abuse who has been sentenced to 30 months in the Federal Correctional Institute at Sandstone, Minnesota for the alleged crime of knowingly transferring an unregistered machine gun. GOA submitted an appeal on August 25, 2008, to get him released from prison, and our brief is viewable at http://www.gunowners.org/fs0806.pdf on the GOA website. We took on the case when we learned that the so-called "machine gun" that Olofson owned was, in reality, one of thousands of ordinary semi-automatic rifles made by Olympic Arms. It happened to misfire a few extra rounds when a friend was using it at a range -- thus drawing the attention of the feds. However, it only became a machine gun when the BATFE, behind closed doors, mechanically tampered with the rifle. Getting guns to malfunction is a favorite technique of the BATFE as it gives them a great opportunity to rack up convictions on the possession or selling of "machine guns," which requires a special type of license. As a result, David Olofson has been robbed of all his freedom, not just his right to keep and bear arms. He has lost his liberty, his family, and his life outside of prison. It is just a turn of fate that it is David Olofson -- not you or any other semi-auto owner you know -- who is rotting away in prison. And that's why GOA came to his aide, and we are pleased to report that you guys have been a tremendous blessing to the Olofson family. David's wife, Candy, told GOA Executive Director Larry Pratt last week that contributions from GOA members have been a tremendous help. So much so, that she does not need to take a second job, thus allowing her to spend time with her children. All of this has resulted from the many GOA members who are making monthly contributions to help pay the Olofson family's mortgage and car payment. By the way, a lawyer friend who lives near Candy told her that GOA's brief was superb. One could could hear the encouragement in her voice that resulted from what the attorney told her. So, now that we have the Olofson family stabilized, we're asking you to help us get stabilized. This case is very expensive, and we need your help to continue pressing ahead for his release from prison. The costs in taking on this case are huge, although it's a burden we gladly bear because of the danger that it presents to ALL gun owners -- especially those who own semi-automatic firearms. If this injustice stands, it will give the ATF the green light to put millions of additional gun owners in their cross hairs. GOA also needs your financial help because we are using this experience to work with a team of experts to develop written testing standards that could be imposed on the BATFE by law. Such a law would protect individual gun owners, manufacturers and dealers alike, and would be the next best thing to getting rid of The Gang (aka, the BATFE). So please help GOA to accomplish these worthwhile efforts. You can help GOA continue fighting to defend David Olofson -- and all gun owners like him -- by going to http://www.gunowners.org/ordergoamem.htm on the GOA website. Thank you.
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