Project Gunwalker

As a novelist, if I were to write a thriller in which a federal law enforcement agency knowingly allowed and even encouraged thousands of American guns to cross the border to arm Mexican drug cartels, in an effort to pad their stats to push for more gun control laws, even though innocent Mexican citizens and a US Border Patrol agent were killed in the process, and afterward there would be a huge cover up that went all the way to the President…  I know some reviewers would say that my plot was silly, just some naive right-wing fantasy.

Yeah… You got me there.  Surely no federal agency would be that stupid. Surely nobody in Washington would arm brutal drug cartels just to push their own politics.

Nope.  That’s crazy talk.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker-part-two

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/a-journalist-s-guide-to-project-gunwalker-part-three

If you’ve not heard about this, that’s understandable, because even though it is bigger than Watergate, it has been getting zilch coverage outside of a few media outlets. Basically, the BATF knowingly allowed criminals to purchase guns in the US to transport over the border to arm Mexican drug cartels. Not one gun. Not a dozen guns. Thousands of guns.

And this is all occurring while gun dealers were calling up the BATF and saying “I got this guy here buying up all of our AR-15s, and he’s really shady, and we think he’s up to no good.” And the BATF responding with “Oh, it’s cool. We know all about him. Let the sale go through.” And then afterwards the BATF tries to hang these dealers for knowingly supplying weapons to Mexican drug cartels.

As a former gun dealer, let me assure you, when your ATF agent tells you to do something, you do it. Period. I had a good relationship with my inspector. I liked her. That said, I also knew that she had the authority to ruin my business with the stroke of a pen. Any actual wrongdoing or malfeasance on the dealer’s part is not necessary to shut you down.  So if the ATF tells you to let the suspicious guy buy the crate of AKs, you do it.

When this came to light, (when people started getting killed with these guns) the BATF said that it was all part of some big investigation/sting they were running to track the flow of guns. Only they never actually tracked the guns. Guns got sold. Guns got taken across the border. Done.  

Gee whiz, why would the BATF do something like that? Could it have anything to do with our Attorney General constantly talking about how the vast majority of crime guns in Mexico come from America, so all of their epic drug cartel warfare that is literally destroying the country, is somehow our fault, and thus we need to pass more gun laws?  Maybe. Especially when it turns out that the AG’s stats were totally bogus.

Yes. For my non-gunnie readers, those stats you still hear on the news are completely fabricated. The thing about 90% of Mexican crime guns coming from us? BS. And while they’re reporting this, they are usually showing video of stacks of brand new M4s, M203s, and 240Bs. Yes, those are built in America… and sold to the Mexican Army. Just a hint for you non-gun folks, you can’t buy those at your local gun show.

Let’s break this down. The drug cartels literally run Mexico. They are fighting over billions and billions of dollars. They are more powerful than the Mexican government. They engage in open warfare in the streets. It is not uncommon for them to slaughter each other and stack twenty plus severed heads in neat pyramids as a warning to their competitors. (I’ve worked with ICE and Border Patrol and I’ve seen pictures that would blow your mind) More people die violently in Mexico than in Afghanistan. The cartels buy military units. They kill politicians and judges. They have private jets. They have rocket launchers, surface to air missiles, and armored personnel carriers. The drug cartels have submarines.  

So do you really think that Fred’s Sporting Goods of South Texas is the root cause of Mexico’s drug fueled violence?  Friggin’ dur. Of course not. Trying to blame that on US gun owners is a desperate, stupid, ignorant attempt at scoring some political points to push their idiotic and demographically defeated agenda. Fingers crossed, Mexican crime guns were to be their next Columbine.

So along comes Project Gunwalker. Let’s pad some stats! Pass some laws! Budget increases for everyone!

And they would’ve gotten away with it too, until US citizens started getting murdered by guns that dealers never would’ve sold if they hadn’t been ordered to by the BATF.

Since this has come to light, the cockroaches have scurried for the shadows. Laws have been broken. Congressional hearings are being held, and the AG is stonewalling and lying.  At first we were supposed to believe that this was just limited to Arizona. Nope. It is much bigger. Just this week it came out that the Florida office was doing the same thing with Honduras. Honduras! Now other agencies were involved and their heads are all saying that they were answering to somebody else.

How high does this go? Well, it sure isn’t looking pretty for the President. This is bigger than Watergate. A crime was committed in Nixon’s administration and he tried to cover it up.  The same thing is happening here. But at least in Watergate, nobody got killed.

So where’s the outrage? Where’s the 24/7 media coverage about this travesty of justice?  Oh, I forgot, Nixon was a Republican.

Even if you are a huge supporter of gun control (and I really don’t know why you are reading this blog if you are) innocent people have been killed and our Justice Department is complicit in it. If you aren’t angry then there is something wrong with you.

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46 thoughts on “Project Gunwalker”

  1. I don’t have the background or savvy to research this information to find out if/to what extent it’s true, but you believe it is, and it’s awesome that you have the guts to say it so boldly.

  2. Comrade, your counter-revolutionary comments must be deleted and you must report yourself to the nearest re-education center immediately.

    It is well known that the masses possess False Consciousness, so they cling to outdated notions such as “liberty”, “God-given rights”, and “constitutionality”. Therefore, the masses cannot be allowed to own weapons. Until they adhere to Party Doctrine and follow the revolutionary path laid down by the Vanguard of the Proletariat, then the massess cannot be trusted with guns. Of course, once the Dictatorship of the Proletariat has been fully established, then the means of production will belong to the People, there will be no oppression, and so it will no longer be necessary for the People to possess arms.

    Project Gunwalker was a brilliant stratagem by Dear Leader and the People’s Commissars to bring about true revolutionary change. Only filthy capitalist, retrogade, counter-revolutionary saboteurs would object to any and all methods to be used in bringing about our Communist utopia. All true Revolutionaries ought to be eager to give up their lives for Communism; I am certain that the untold thousands of Mexicans who were killed with Gunwalker guns would be happy to know that their lives were sacrificed for the Greater Good.

    We must trust in the Party Chairman, Comrade President Barack Obama. We must trust in the Party and the Commissars who selflessly serve our Rodina. All counter-revolutionary doubt and criticism must be stamped out in the name of the Proletariat.

    All Hail the General Secretary and the revolutionary work of the 111th Congress of People’s Deputies!

  3. The frustrating part is that although Obama and his administration absolutely will fall in the next election, that’s where it will end. When in fact They should all be charged, tried and convicted of treason and spend the rest of their lives in a Federal Prison!

    1. There is no ‘absolutely’ in the next election. These people are determined to hang onto power because their only goal is to loot the corpse of this country. Everyone of us who is not working for a candidate to get a Democrat SOMEWHERE out of office is just another nail in America’s coffin. Don’t post, organize!

  4. It’s good to know about this disgrace and to spread the word but its even more important to take action. Call your rep in congress and demand action! Tell them to get on Rep Issa to get this done.

  5. I’ve been following this since congress started investigating and it’s a mess. cnsnews.com has been giving a lot of coverage and blogs like thetruthaboutguns.com have been scouring the web for info related to it.

    I hope that it falls on the shoulders of those responsible. They’ve already tried to pin it on a fall-guy twice. More than Eric Holder is lying, the White House won’t even answer questions related to it, and BATFE is trying to blame it on the FBI and as many other federal organizations as possible. This lack of accountability is so very responsible.

    In my opinion the media isn’t covering it because of Obama’s already shaky reelection numbers and are hoping it’ll drag out to 2012 where it could be dismissed as mud slinging, until convictions happen that is.

    Maybe this will get a nice restructure of the ATF and put law enforcement back in charge instead of the Clinton era politicians. I’m not sure if that would help. Maybe the President will take accountability for this or Libya or any of the other things he’s being investigated for. Probably not, one can always hope…

  6. It is amazing to me how little media is covering this.

    among the very, very few news items you’ll find from mainstream sources doing a basic search on google news is:

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20070896-10391695.html

    It is disturbing to me that this is coming down hard on party lines in Congress.

    To me, it is seeming that the Executive branch under the current …leader is attempting to circumscribe and reduce the balancing powers of other branches and levels (states) of government. This is beyond massive lincoln/roosevelt federalism.

    I would like to point out that the MSM as it is now is a different beast from the Nixon era. The FCC still had teeth at that time and there were restrictions on how many broadcast outlets one company could control. In keeping with that, the paper news media was also broader in ownership and independence.

    Far cry from now, where almost the entirety of MSM is owned by under a dozen multinational corporations with their own agendas and agreements.

    1. The FCC and media ownership has nothing to do with this not being covered. If it were a Republican president, it would be covered.

      Heck, Bush couldn’t even have legitimate military operations without the press publishing it everywhere, and the same reporters NOT reporting this made up the entire case against Scooter Libby while not reporting who actually told them.

      1. I think that the reason “if it were a Republican” would matter is because the rules and ownerships *have* changed.

        You seem to be saying that if this were the early 70s, it would be covered up, deliberately, by the media. A media that, at the time, was more independent, with reporters having more freedom to really tear into stories and investigative projects.

        I’m not claiming, at all, that the current media situation is in any way not a badness thing. – but I’m contrasting the media of the time of Larry’s original Nixon side remark with current MSM. And I do, in fact, think there is a difference.

    2. well, here’s a modifiable letter for yall: what I wrote to Reid and Heller’s offices.

      Dear Senator

      I’m a resident out here in rural Nevada, and a veteran. I’m very concerned with the information coming out about the GunWalker events.

      There is much we don’t know, but we can state that selling firearms so that they could be used in crimes as a means of intelligence gathering is very disturbing. The agencies involved appeared to be *counting* on innocent deaths or the commission of homicidal crimes. Please think that through.

      CBS News is further reporting:

      http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20070896-10391695.html

      that the Executive branch is, in essence, dismissing the Legislative branch of the US government as irrelevant. As a voter, how can I be represented in such a situation?

      I know that in the military, providing material aid to an enemy resulting in the death of US personnel would be considered treasonous.

      I realize the budget issues facing Congress are very important right now- and further that the GunWalker issue is coming down on party lines and this makes for some difficulty. Nonetheless, I’d ask for some serious, courageous investigation into this matter.

      thanks you
      Christof Harper

  7. Thank you Mr. Harper. I believe I will be sending a version of that letter to my representatives.

    1. more is better! I’ll be emailing at the state level with questions about how this relates to our State’s position, and what level of oversight and command authority the ATF should have in reference to forcing dealers to sell firearms.

  8. Mr. Correia, thank you for writing about this. I suspect I’m not the only one who asked you to do so, and your post has more than met my expectations. Thank you for being an advocate.

    I’d like to urge everyone to send a letter similar to Mr. Harper’s to your representatives.

    You can go to http://www.house.gov/ and enter your ZIP code in the upper right corner to get an email link to your Congressman, and at http://www.senate.gov/ there’s a pull down in the upper right corner to get a web contact form for your Senators.

  9. You know, it was reported throughout the gun blogosphere not long after Giffords’ shooting that The Enlightened one was looking at some gun law stuff “under the radar.”

    Under the radar.

    Let that one sink in for a bit. Wasn’t Project Gunwalker supposed to be under the radar?

    tweaker

    1. I remember that, too, ST. I’ve been wondering just what it was that Dear Leader was talking about at the time.

      Could it have been Gunwalker/Fast and Furious? Inquiring minds want to know!

  10. It’s good you’re covering this with a more diverse readership than the gun blogs. It’s rant and rave time over there, but it is preaching to the choir. We’ve been ranting since the 90% stats came out. Who knew it would turn into this?

  11. I would like to say something. Every time the facts of this horrible debacle are recited, we should include this name:

    Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.

    He was brave, dedicated, and honorable. Everything the bureaucrats that came up with this nightmare “sting” operation are not. It was his death that caused the initial BATFE agent to report this fiasco. His parents should be invited to testify in the hearings so everyone can hear the awful cost of “Operation Fast and Furious.”

  12. He.

    As it happens I am in favor of harsher gun control laws (though this possibly just comes from being a Brit, with a mandatory five year sentence for unlicensed possession).

    Sorry – but guns make killing just a little too easy for me to be comfortable with.

    Hard to know what the wankers were thinking. My prayers are with the families.

    1. Exactly, guns make killing criminals who are already well armed a little easier to defend oneself and one’s family. Because, you know, criminals don’t give a rat’s behind about the laws, though us law-abiding citizens (who are not criminals), do.

    2. How has all that victim disarmament crap helped with your country’s violence rate, Alex?

      Oh yes … Britain is the most violent country in Europe. A place where honest citizens go to jail for owning a pistol, and criminals who get hurt while assaulting honest people can file police complaints against their victims.

      What country has the lowest violent crime rate? Oh yes, it’s Switzerland, that place where everyone keeps a fully automatic assault rifle at home, and where schoolchildren compete on shooting teams.

      1. Quite well thank you, at least as far as the intentional murder rate is concerned

        http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate

        Incidentally a source for the violent crime rate figures

        http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1196941/The-violent-country-Europe-Britain-worse-South-Africa-U-S.html

        I direct your attention to paragraph 18 (the one by the top of the slightly smug looking photo of Alan Johnson), r.e the definition that U.K. law enforcement uses for violent crime. Note a paragraph below the number of murders recorded for 2007 : 921.

        From the Bureau of Justice Statistics

        http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/homicide/homtrnd.cfm

        In 2005 there were around 11,000 (presumably) unjustifiable homicides, using all types of guns (mostly handguns at 8,000). The US population is about five times bigger, but that’s still a significant difference.

        @SirBrass yes, guns are a problem. However not generally as big a one as the media makes out. We do have a knife problem, but to be honest given the choice I would take a knife over a gun any day (faced with the prospect of being brutally stabbed I’m pretty sure I could outrun almost anyone, short of a professional athlete, who thankfully have alternative revenue sources).

      2. Alex said:

        given the choice I would take a knife over a gun any day (faced with the prospect of being brutally stabbed I’m pretty sure I could outrun almost anyone, short of a professional athlete

        So what about those of us who couldn’t? What about someone like Kurt Hoffman? What about my dad, who can’t run very far or fast (if at all)?

        If you want to take your chances that you can run faster and farther than the thug or group of thugs that want to hurt you, you are free to do so. Just don’t force everyone else to do the same.

      3. Alex —

        The US violent crime rate was higher than the UK’s, even when the gun laws in the UK were looser than in the US. (Shocking, but true. Yes, at one point, British gun laws were LOOSER than US law, on average.)

        Likewise, when US and UK gun laws were equal, i.e., nonexistant.

        US violence rates for individual communities were higher than equivalent communities in Canada, when Canada had looser gun laws than the US. (Same basic demographics, population size, income distribution, etc. — often we’re talking about continguous communities where, pre-9/11, it was, “Walk across the street, and the cops wear different shirts with crowns on their patches.”)

        Likewise, US violence rates were higher than Canadian ones for equivalent communites when US and Canadian gun laws were isentical, i.e., nonexistant.

        British visitors to colonial America regularly reported that Americans were WAY more prone to violence, even when guns cost MORE in America (because all the locks, and almost all the barrels were imported from England, for one). At that point, American gun laws WERE British.

        Meanwhile, Finland, Israel (terrorism aside), New Zealand, and Switzerland all have fairly low violence rates, even though there is ready availability of weapons — particularly weapons of the sort MOST heavily controlled in America. Czechoslovakia has laws equivalent to US laws in many states (FAR looser than the strong-anti-gun states, and a higher national per capita rate of concealed carry permits), and almost nonexistant gun crime involving legally owned guns.

        Parts of Australia (Australian gun law was traditionally EXCLUSIVELY on a state by state, rather than national, level) had looser gun laws and higher gun ownership rates than many parts of the US, as late as the 1990’s. Yet THEY had lower gun violence rates.

        Studies by psychologists, intended to prove that legal gun ownership rates correspond to violence rates have found that, while higher gun availability means higher GUN violence, overall homicide, serious assault, and suicide rates are statistically unaffected. Since criminals tend to avoid obeying laws (C R I M I N A L S, duh), the net result is predictable — more of the homicide (homicide is not a crime, necessarily) victims tend to be the GOOD GUYS, since they DO by and large, obey the law.

        The more gun laws places like South Africa, the UK, Mexico, Washington DC, Chicago, New York City, etc., put in place, the HIGHER their gun crime violence rate goes. . . even when nearby regions of similar demographics see much lower increases, stable rates, or even lower rates of violent crime.

  13. Larry, just a FYI, while there are many, many weapons the frakkers get from the cops/military, those are nothing compared to the kind of firepower they get from places further down south, they get RPG’s from Venezuela, 40mms from Guatemala and M249s from Colombia and other HE weapons from South Korea, most of the time, supplied by the same drug lords that pass along the dope, if they have freaking drug submarines ain’t it tough to think they may also get firearms submarines?

    Otherwise, if it was a fubar situation, you would see the cartels running around with MK19s, G3s, G36s and the usual 21e that the Mexican army does not only uses, but BUILDS here in our soil.

    But that brings us to the next topic, just like the Condition, they operate on a cell level, and while the higher ups get many goodies, the low level cells operating as burros get nothing, they don’t get advanced comms or bulletproof vehicles, they ransack everything they can from the citizenry and then some.

    That’s why you see many American weapons, Varmint ARs, Tapco stocked Aks, DSA Fals and the odd CETME and gouchy handguns, that’s what they get the most from the USA, HANDGUNS, because most mils don’t have access to the kind of availability the US has to offer, that way the same burros that take the dope to the states return with .45s and .38 Super’s as payment, sometimes the odd Barret or Zel Tactilite, heck I saw a Windrunner once!, and that’s why Gunwalker was such a mess, it gave arms to the low level fraks that are causing the trouble, mutilating rivals and blasting away at business with the people inside it.

    The Gunwalker morons deserve the freaking worst, thanks for sharing your point of view your fellow readers.

    1. I think people tend to oversimplify their view. Like this:

      The cartels are well managed organizations with employees, unified heirarchies, and benefits.

      This just isn’t the way it seems to work. Granted – I’m basing my view on other organizations of similar type.

      To be sure, core jefa A is getting RPGs, APCs and suchlike from here and there- and plenty of US military weaponry.

      But “street jefe B” on the border paying up the chain for the right to move mules and control immigration isn’t getting that. It’s sink or swim on his own, so he’s walking guns across the border.

      Beyond the incredibly …. inhuman idea of using murder for intelligence tracking, the whole idea of F&F or GunWalker fails on this core point. Jefe A isn’t going to touch these, when he has M60s in his compound, and carries a full custom sig226 that’s gold plated.

      Knocking out Jefe B does dork all for us, he’s replaced in hours.

    1. I will comment here, and on Jake’s blog.

      I live in rural nevada. I’m a bit of a gun nut (and I make knives, I can tell you that there’s some stuff out there you wouldn’t want to face!)

      But let’s look at what I carry, what’s readily accessible, and why.

      First up is the .44 special revolver. Loaded with 1 snake shot and 4 flat points. Then there’s a 20ga slug bore with bukshot, and after that an assortment of others.

      But the first two are key here. What am I walking around armed for?

      Well, 80% is coyotes. about 19 of the remaining 20% is snakes, gopher/vole type varmints, cougar, or anything else that’s pissing off my garden or trying to eat my goats and chickens.

      that last 1% – I’m in the country. I’m not that far outside of fallon, but it’s not like I have a police station nearby, and some crazy stuff does happen in the high desert.

      the main, primary, absolutely non negotiable reason I have firearms in general, though- I don’t think I can explain to you. It’s a core difference in a certain type of American- a duty, a power, and a liberty.

      Maybe it would be safer if everyone here was restricted in ownership of things like firearms, or pointed kitchen knives (England’s next step in fighting crime!) … but there’s a famous line about trading freedom for safety.

    2. Alex —

      With the exception of the tire thumper and flashlight, ALL of those tools require more skill to use adequately against an UNARMED aggressor than a simple handgun. (Yes, even the Kubaton and “Tactical Pen”.)

      The tire thumper requires strength, so Granny is SOL when 275 lbs “Littleboy” decides he wants her pension check.

      The tire thumper is harder to carry unobtrusively than a simple handgun. The flahslight is harder to carry ready for use than a simple handgun. The Taser, handheld stun gun, and pepper spray are both harder to carry unobtrusively, they are also harder to carry ready for use. (You didn’t think Littleboy was calling ahead for an appointment, did you?)

      The police (quite reasonably) tend to want to speak to people who wander around the city swinging a billy club from a wrist thong (so as to have their tire thumper handy if jumped from the dark alley).

      NONE of these are as effective in preventing serious injury by the law abiding citizen carrying it for defence as a simple handgun. Granny with a cheap ass revolver her late husband gave her when he signed up after Pearl Harbor that she has NEVER fired can be just as lethal a target as R. Lee Ermey with a Glock 18 machinepistol. . . if she hits her attacker. (Surprisingly enough, “untrained civilians” do a much better job than you would think — they get a higher rate of good hits than the COPS do, in large part because they have an easier tactical picture to deal with — ain’t no question in Granny’s mind who the bad guy is and who the victim is, for one; she’s a Hell of a lot closer, too, on average).

      So far as strength goes, she’s got to be able to lift a pound or two, and pull against a 5-12 pound (depending on gun, and these are typical) trigger.

      Statistically speaking, the defense tactic that offers the LOWEST odds of the victim of a violent crime being killed or seriously injured is. . . a gun. Passive non-resistance is actually the RISKIEST option for the victim. (This is based on extensive studies of crime victims, their defensive actions, and the outcomes.)

      The majority of the time a gun is brought into play by an intended victim, the gun never gets fired — Littleboy isn’t a mugger because he likes the challenge, he’s a mugger because he’s LAZY. Beating up Granny for her cat food money is his JOB, and he doesn’t want to work any harder or run any greater risk when he’s “punching the time clock” than any other unmotivated 19 year old. “Food that hurts” is NOT what any predator is looking for.

      Granny1 pulls out gun, Punk1 runs away. Win.
      Grannies 1, Punks 0

      IF she fired, and EVEN if he gets missed, there is at least a 50% chance the bad guy decides to leave for greener pastures.

      Granny2 fires gun and misses, Punk2 runs away. Win.
      Grannies 2, Punks 0

      Lastly, roughly 50% of ANYONE, hit ANYWHERE (including grazing wounds less serious than stepping on broken glass at the beach), with ANY BULLET (caliber, design. . . all irrelevant), IMMEDIATELY stops being an aggressive threat. (That’s an M-S “One Shot Stop” percentage of better than 50%, since M-S ratings only use solid torso hits, whereas this 50% number includes minor extremity wounds.)

      Granny3 fires gun and wings target, Punk3runs away/surrender/falls down and starts crying/falls down dead from shock (it has happened, including a shallow graze to the arm with a .25ACP). Win.
      Grannies 3, Punks 0

      “Well, maybe Granny misses him, or he isn’t the 50% that stop being aggressive when hit with a non-disabling wound?”

      That’s why Granny is glad to live in the post-1836 world of “commonly available and reliable repeating firearms”. Hell, the ammo is already paid for, and even if it is a justified shoot with a legally carried gun, the cops aren’t likely to give you back the unfired ones still in the gun. Not even when they return your gun (“forensic testing”, “lost in evidence”, etc.) Or, as I taught my wife and dozens of others, “Shoot until you’re not scared anymore; i.e., shoot until you are safe. Slide lock is your friend.”

      Yeah, that’s different advice than you’d follow if you were a pro facing multiple attackers — But even if there is a pack of ’em, chances are after Littleboy snorts a line of .380 lead at 950fps, his buddies aren’t going to asking themsleves, “Did she shoot 10 or 13? . . . sometime in the confusion I must have lost count.” Or, as John Wayne’s character said once (paraphrase), “There’s four of you with knives, and this here derringer only holds two. Question is, which two get to do the dyin’, and which two get to do the cuttin’?”

      Taser, pepperspray, and ANY type of contact weapon require real skills, strength and agility, entirely too close a distance, favoirable environmental conditions, favorable target physiology, target in light clothing, or some or all of the above. I have some experience on both ends of all but the Taser (being as I’ve ridden the lightning with the contact stun gun, all I really missed out on was pullng the fishhooks out aterwards — and I HAVE caught myself while casting with blue water tackle, so I feel I can extrapolate) and the Tactical Pen (but I did end up on the wrong end of a bloody knife before).

      My favorites are the ones people generally have no experience with — Tasers/stun guns and pepper spray. The electrical weapons really don’t disable the target after the juice is off. (You see, the plan is for your fellow officers to get ready to pig pile the target while he is doing the Kickin’ Chicken in the street.) Pepper spray flat out DOES NOT WORK on some people, and it all too often DOES work if on you if you gauge the wind wrong.

      People DO occaisionally die from electrically based “Less Lethal” weapons and pepper spray. People DO die if you stab them in the temple with a tactical pen or Kubaton, or crush their skull with a tire beater. And they have a far higher failure rate in use (especially in untrained hands) than the crappiest US production gun I’ve seen.

      Since the bad guy is the one who decided that he was willing to offer force as a negotiating tactic (and a lucky punch from a young man can kill easily; a kick to the head is even more likely to kill), responding with EFFECTIVE force (i.e., high possibility of lethal) to an unlawful attack (even a “bare handed” one) is, at worst, morally a wash. If Littleboy doesn’t like the table rules, he shouldn’t have offered the game.

  14. Hey, larry.

    I did get a response from Senator Reid, but not yet from Senator Heller.

    “Dear Mr. Harper:

    Thank you for contacting me in regards to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). I appreciate hearing from you.

    As you mentioned in your letter, in 2005 the ATF launched the pilot project “Project Gunrunner” in Laredo, TX, to help combat firearms trafficking from the United States to Mexico. In 2006, ATF expanded this program to assist their broader Southwest Border Initiative, which aimed to reduce drug and firearms trafficking and the widespread violence associated with organized crime and drug trafficking. Under Project Gunrunner, the ATF would allow straw buyers, people suspected of working with Mexican drug cartels, to buy and export guns. The ATF hoped this technique would allow them to track the guns to Mexico, helping lead them to the drug cartels.

    The effectiveness of this program was investigated by the Office of the Inspector General at the Department of Justice in November 2010. Currently, Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA-49), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is investigating Project Gunrunner in the House of Representatives. Should I have the opportunity to consider this issue in the Senate, I will be sure to keep your thoughts in mind. ….”

    Unfortunately, I live in NV district 2, so I have not House representation.

    Just an update.

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