January 3, 2010

"Looks like the straw sale of a gun store"

We often rag on the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel but this is some outstanding reporting:
"These guys are cagey, sophisticated [gun] dealers and they have legally thwarted every attempt ATF has made to regulate their conduct.  . . . They have a built-in escape clause. What other industry gets that kind of sweetheart deal?"
That's the district attorney speaking. All of the other local law enforcement officials interviewed for the report are at least equally skeptical and, what's more, don't mince words.

Which, I suspect, might have something to do with annoyance at federal agencies' reluctance to share potentially actionable information with the folks "on the ground," as the saying goes.

(Obama's coming to get your guns ... yeah, right.)

How in the world can somebody purchase a retail store lock, stock, and barrel while having "no idea" of the value of its inventory. That seems practically impossible and more troubling given the ATF's discovery of inventory "discrepancies" which led to the store's sale.

Hence J-S reporter John Diedrich's comparisons with the Tacoma, WA gun dealer are strikingly apt.

1 comment:

blurondo said...

"Since 2003, Congress has approved strictly limiting the release of information about gun stores,...The restrictions are included in large spending bills...not separate votes that would allow accountability by voters." (Side bar, page 22)
The more I learn about politicians and how they do things, the more I lose faith in this country.