from American Rifleman, 11/95, p.16 Knox's Notebook by Neal Knox Justice Funding Registration System The Justice Department is funding a "demonstration project" in Pittsburgh that compiles firearms data from state, local and Federal records into one big computer, accessible by all participating law enforcement agencies - including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. When completed - and they've been working on this for a year - any agency will be able to tap a few keys and get street maps of the city with the homes of all legal gunowners neatly circled! The $199,080 grant (94-DD-CX-0166, approved Sept. 30, 1994) builds on a $400,000 "Innovative Firearms Program" grant, both from the Bureau of Justice Assistance. Such grants are supposed to be public information, but the city refused to give a copy to the Allegheny County Sportsman's Association, and Justice wouldn't even release it to Sen. Rick Santorum (PA) until he filed a Freedom of Information request - finally answered in August. According to the grant application: "The goal of the system is to connect multiple Federal and local law enforcement agencies via computer, thus allowing them to share and exchange all firearms- related information generated within Allegheny County. Specifically, this information will include: applications and registrations for all firearms purchases, applications and approved licenses for firearms dealers, applications and approved carry permits for firearms, police reports on stolen and confiscated firearms, and legally required reports of pawned items within the city and the county." The application specifically states that the records will include "federally required records of sales or other dispositions of firearms by licensed dealers to non-licensees (e.g. BATF Form 4473)." That's illegal, for Sec. 926 of the Gun Control Act prohibits those records from being compiled into such a central registration system. Similarly, as the application notes, many of the records being compiled into the system are being destroyed - as required by Pennsylvania and Federal laws designed to prohibit this very type of system. According to an internal Justice Department memo, "This proposal was developed by the (Computer Division) City of Pittsburgh and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms." We learned about the project last February when NRA Director Mike Slavonic got a call from a friend in the sheriff's office, who said computer specialists from the city and Carnegie Mellon University were trying to obtain firearms related files "under a Justice Department grant." They were told they weren't authorized to have them, even if, as they claimed, "Janet Reno personally told us she approved." How much cooperation they've gotten from other agencies, and how far along they are on the project, we don't know - but NRA-ILA's lawyers and lobbyists are trying to find out. [continued in next message] ... I will defend the Constitution -- even against the government! --- Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 * Origin: OptiNet -->BBS Full LIVE Internet 204.214.208.240 (1:3606/10) 0SEEN-BY: 270/101 280/1 376/206 396/1 3615/50 51 3634/38 52 300 0PATH: 3606/10 396/1 3615/50 3634/38 From: Andy Kellett #0 @1:3606/10 via 1:3634/38 FIDOnet Re: Knox's Notebook 11/95 #2 0AREA:RTKBA 0MSGID: 1:3606/10 000245c7 2 of 3 FBI Defends Weaver Cover-up J. Edgar Hoover must be rolling in his grave. Five FBI agents "took the Fifth" to avoid self-incrimination - which Hoover once derided as the "gangster defense" - during Sen. Arlen Specter's hearings into the Ruby Ridge fiasco. But Hoover would have approved the all-out effort of the BATF, U.S. Marshals and FBI to resolutely defend their agencies, their actions (for which the Justice Dept. has already paid the Randy Weaver family $3.1 million) and the official cover-up (which has five senior FBI officials, including the former Deputy Director and the commander of the Waco disaster under suspension during a criminal investigation). Unlike the totally partisan House Waco hearings, Senators from both parties openly showed skepticism at the testimony of Federal law enforcers: the BATF agent who falsely told a prosecutor and U.S. Marshals that Weaver was a dangerous convicted criminal; the marshals who claimed - despite the evidence - that Weaver had shot his own son; the FBI snipers who argued that their shots without warning at Weaver and his family were necessary to protect a helicopter that was nowhere near; the FBI administrator whose review found his friends and superiors blameless, despite a later - also suspect - Justice Department report that determined some of the FBI's actions at Ruby Ridge to be illegal and unconstitutional. Though the House Waco hearings produced a significant record of Federal law enforcement abuse and arrogance - which was obscured by the three-ring circus orchestration by Rep. Charles Schumer - Sen. Specter's hearings held a penetrating public spotlight on Ruby Ridge. The FBI's friends in the press have tried to reduce the public criticism by planting the notion that Sen. Specter is "anti-law enforcement," but that hoary rationalization can't stick - no more than the same charge can be made to stick against NRA. [continued in next message] ... Men fight for freedom, and then pass laws to take it away. --- Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 * Origin: OptiNet -->BBS Full LIVE Internet 204.214.208.240 (1:3606/10) 0SEEN-BY: 270/101 280/1 376/206 396/1 3615/50 51 3634/38 52 300 0PATH: 3606/10 396/1 3615/50 3634/38 From: Andy Kellett #0 @1:3606/10 via 1:3634/38 FIDOnet Re: Knox's Notebook 11/95 #3 0AREA:RTKBA 0MSGID: 1:3606/10 000245e7 3 of 3 FBI Lobbying For Bullet Ban In mid-July an FBI representative was sent on a tour of major handgun ammunition manufacturers and asked them to "voluntarily" support President Bill Clinton's bullet ban. He left them a two-page "Proposed Industry Initiatives Regarding Armor Piercing Ammunition," which he said came "straight from Director Louis Freeh." This is no hoax, I know the agent's name; some of the people he met with are personal friends. The companies were asked to "Sponsor or support legislation" banning production, importation and sale of military specification handgun ammo, non-deforming or full-jacketed ammo, or any conventional handgun ammunition with "non-deforming bullets" that exceeds 1125 f.p.s. One of the seven requested "Industry Iniatives" was to "Sponsor or support legislation prohibiting the 'dumping' of surplus military handgun ammunition, regardless of origin or manufacturer, on the civilian market. This would effectively 'ban' possession of military handgun ammunition (based on known AP capabilities) without affecting ... lawful possession or use of handgun ammunition which will not penetrate Level IIA body armor." The companies were asked to provide a written response within a week. Then the FBI said, "Never mind." Someone realized that what they were doing was a violation of Sec. 1913, Title 18, U.S. Criminal Code, which prohibits lobbying with appropriated funds. Nevertheless, there was a meeting between FBI and firearms industry representatives Aug. 31 at the FBI Firearms Training Unit at Quantico. The way I hear it, the FBI was firmly told that the proposals are neither desirable nor workable and that the industry will neither support legislation nor impose "voluntary" restrictions on the ammunition they produce. Shouldn't an independent prosecutor look into the FBI's illegal lobbying? Andy... akellett@mail.public.lib.ga.us ... I want the same thing the FEDs want .... my FREEDOM!! --- Blue Wave/QWK v2.20 * Origin: OptiNet -->BBS Full LIVE Internet 204.214.208.240 (1:3606/10) 0SEEN-BY: 270/101 280/1 376/206 396/1 3615/50 51 3634/38 52 300 0PATH: 3606/10 396/1 3615/50 3634/38