Interesting article in this week's (9/2) Las Cruces Bulletin. BATF agents
entered gun stores and copied the names of everyone who purchased a
gun in the last 6 months. They then have harrassed people who are on
this list: "One caller [to the Heart to Heart radio show] said he had
been stopped for a minor traffic violation and when the police officer
ran a routine computer check, was told that a warrant had been issued
for his arrest. Apparently, BATF had filed for the warrant because he
had moved from the address he lived at when he purchased the gun and
was not there when the agents tried to confirm the information found
on dealer records."
The BATF has been giving different stories to different gun shop
owners as to why they have been doing this: "The 'gun smuggling' story
was told to some; others were told the bureau was doing this 'to
prevent another Waco' (!) or as part of a criminal investigation.
Still other teams reportedly said they didn't know why they were
taking down the information."
Interestingly enough, the BATF p.r. person Franceska Perot stated when
asked about agents copying down every name "That's not my
understanding of what they were supposed to be doing."
If you want a copy of the paper (I have no afillation with them), call
(505) 524-8061. To complain to the BATF (Houston office) call
(713)449-2073.
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