ATF and Multiple Sales

[HHB Guns]

Well ATF Surprised me this week. I was woken up at 0900 on the dot to a local ATF agent wanting answers. Seems that I just happen to be the #1 handgun dealer in SC since May who has sold the most Multiple Sale of Handguns. Just for folks that don't know what I am speaking of if you buy more than one handgun in 5 business days I have to report you to ATF on a multiple sale form and they keep a database in VA that compiles names with guns. Then every Friday they send the top 10 buyers to the local agents to investigate to make sure these folks aren't buying online and then selling at flea markets or on the street.

Well one of my customers is a very old retired millionaire that enjoys collecting guns. To date since last Oct he has bought about 250 guns. Never shot a gun before last Aug and then he went crazy on gunbroker. 97 handguns to be exact because ATF told me Thursday I had sent up 97 on multiple sale forms. The agent said he was the number one buyer in SC by a long shot so they had to investigate. I explained to them that he was def not a dealer and that he would let them come into his home and he would gladly show them all 250 guns. He was satisfied with that plus my customer called him after the fact and invited him over. The agent told him now that he knew the story behind the purchases they would remove him from the email list every week and he could buy as many as he wanted.

So I guess the question is...Is it good that they are checking up on these guys trying to stop street dealers or do you feel they were infringing on his 2nd amendment right? I am sorta happy they called myself but I was just curious why it took since may and 97 guns to call.

 

[Avtomat-Acolyte]

Instead of hitting known drug houses (drug houses always have guns), known felons with outstanding warrants (almost always have guns), or instead of targeting illegal immigrants and back-tracking their sources of entry (also a good source of guns, considering cartels are responsible for a lot of human trafficking from Mexico to the US), they chose to take the easy, lazy way of trying to get an arrest.

A guy buying 250 handguns and then selling them at flea markets or on the streets doesn't present any threat to the United States of America. This guy also doesn't do anything that violates the explicit wording nor the obvious implication of the US Constitution.

Gangs are tough. They might fight back. Violent felons are scary.

It's much easier to have a TAC team stack up on some 70 or 80 year old and dynamic entry his house.

The ATF isn't in the business of protecting America. They are in the habit of removing all private gun ownership from existence. They go for the easy targets. They push hard on FFL's but never roll into Compton or through any government projects doing sweeps.

The reasons and justifications are obvious for all behaviors by that agency.

 

[Enjay]

This is a prime example of how the feds generate the reams and reams of paperwork that they use to prove that they're doing their jobs.
Honestly, yeah, paperwork for 97 does seem excessive and I agree with following up on it, the problem I have with that is that the criminals have figured out how many they can buy how often without attracting attention and limit themselves to those parameters.
Then again, if they have to sift through the shipments of 500 importers to find the one shipment of cocaine, I'm happy to have the other 499 inconvenienced.

 

[SuperChuck]

My biggest gripe about that situation is the hypocrisy that they have been exhibiting on the Gunrunner and Fast and Furious fiascos...

A year ago they were using the issue of US guns getting into Cartel hands as an excuse to try to find more limitations on purchasing guns...They were actually saying that american guns were fueling the cartel wars, and the US needed to revamp our Gun Laws...

While the whole time they are sending thousands of guns into mexico, knowingly purchased by straw buyers, and above the objections of the gunshops that they recruited to be storefronts. Not only were they blatently and knowingly putting the guns into the hands of the criminals, they weren't even concerned about where they went or who they killed. If thats not negligence or hypocrasy, by all the entities involved, the definitions must be different than my comprehension.

Its one thing to reaffirm that someone is not a straw buyer. Its another thing to pick and chose when you want to follow, or enforce the law, based on political purposes.

SuperChuck