The ATF alert calls this letter a hoax, and given its content I should hope so, but just the fact that it's hard to tell these days... yeah. That's troubling.

the letter in question, as attached to the ATF FFL alert email

(Actually it declares a suspension of "the Second Ammendment of the United State Constitution," which is a pretty wide crack in the otherwise fairly convincing-looking presentation, but I digress. That level of quality is depressingly plausible for the agency from which the letter claims to come.)

The first sentence is especially chilling in its plausibility as the lede of a message from today's federal government: "Constitutional rights are a privilege for American citizens, not a guarantee." Again, I stress that the letter is a hoax... but you know a lot of DHS people believe this 100%.

It goes on to state that ICE agents may enter a dealer's premises at any time and demand a) all the records and b) the immediate surrender of personal weapons carried by anyone on the premises, and that failure to comply "will be interpreted as a deliberate act of domestic terrorism" (emphasis theirs).

It hits all the prevailing rhetorical notes. There's blather about "brave government agents" and "the tyranny of foreign invaders," and claims that removal of the notice constitutes "destruction of government property". There are even citations of U.S. statutes, though I haven't checked them for relevance. For all I know, they lead to laws about food labeling or catalytic converters or something.

I find myself wondering whether this is the work of some rando trying to stir the pot for fun, someone with a beef against that particular dealer trying to give them a scare, or maybe even actual ICE personnel seeing what they can get away with. It's not like they believe their authority has limits. Mind, I'm not saying that's the case... but if it is, it's mildly and darkly hilarious to me that they've been thwarted by another federal agency. Grumble we collectors might about ATF and its weird rules and its slow bureaucracy, it does at least seem to care that it has rules.

--G.
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Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Their teeth are not terribly sharp, but they could leave some dandy bite marks if that be an actual Heimatsicherheitsamt ukase. Or that shop owner could bite back, of course.

"He's sayin' y'all are Texans. And it's gonna be up to y'all to decide what that means. Does it mean lettin' the Klan and big bidness run things, 'cause they're too big to fight and, hell, we kind've like havin' them in charge anyhow? Or is it about drawin' a line in the sand and sayin' 'No further'?"
-- Sheriff Jesse Custer to the people of Salvation, TX (more or less; I sold off my Preacher collection to 2nd and Charles a couple of whiles back)