Click here to view original web page at bearingarms.com
(AP Photo/Elaine Thompson) Straw buys are one of the ways a criminal can get his or her hands on a firearm. They simply get someone else to go into the store and buy it for them. It’s not the most common way a criminal can get a gun, nor is it the most common way guns make it on the black market, but it certainly happens.
The Biden administration has decided that it needs to crack down on these sales as part of its efforts to address the skyrocketing violent crime rate.
However, a story at the Washington Post kind of skims over one of the problems with this crackdown. Justice Department officials eager to stanch the rising tide of gun violence in America plan to ratchet up prosecutions of small-level “straw” buyers of weapons that are later transported to major cities and used in crimes. Attorney General Merrick Garland plans to launch a series of “strike forces” on Thursday to combat gun trafficking in D.C., New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and the San Francisco area. The effort does not involve more agents, officials said, but rather a refocusing — particularly of investigators at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — to crack down on the sources of illegal guns. ATF officials have long said that firearms trafficking is not typically the work of large, coordinated criminal enterprises. Instead, in small-scale operations, illicit gun dealers find individuals to buy weapons, then hand them over to be resold to criminals out of town or out of state. Such straw purchases are illegal. But it is often difficult to prove the initial gun buyers deliberately lied on their paperwork. For that reason, officials say, many cases are not prosecuted. At a briefing this week, one ATF official compared gun traffickers to “ants marching from one place to another.” “These are challenging prosecutions to make, and a lot of times the prosecutable crimes occur where the firearms are obtained,” said the ATF official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the new investigative and prosecutorial strategy. “And in that source area, […]
Click here to view original web page at bearingarms.com
They’re Trying to Shut Us Down
Over the last several months, I’ve lost count of how many times the powers-that-be have tried to shut us down. They’ve sent hackers at us, forcing us to take extreme measures on web security. They sent attorneys after us, but thankfully we’re not easily intimidated by baseless accusations or threats. They’ve even gone so far as to make physical threats. Those can actually be a bit worrisome but Remington has me covered.
For us to continue to deliver the truth that Americans need to read and hear, we ask you, our amazing audience, for financial assistance. We have a Giving Fuel page to help us pay the bills. It’s brand new so don’t be discouraged by the lack of donations there. It’s a funny reality that the fewer the donations that have been made, the less likely people are willing to donate to it. One would think this is counterintuitive, but sometimes people are skeptical because they think that perhaps there’s a reason others haven’t been donating. In our situation, we’re just getting started so please don’t be shy if you have the means to help.
Thank you and God bless!
JD Rucker