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When the news of these stings broke, I called the ATF and asked this very question. The answer I got from the front line guy who answered the phone was truly scary. His exact quote (as best I remember it) was:
[line]
Story By Newsday.Com
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is examining the results of an unusual sting set up by the City of New York, in which private investigators recorded themselves purchasing handguns at shops in several states.
Acting independently of law enforcement, the investigators took hidden cameras into stores to test whether they would participate in a type of transaction known as a "straw purchase," where one person illegally buys a gun on behalf of someone else.
The exercise was conducted primarily to support a civil lawsuit, filed by the city last week, accusing 15 gun shops in five states of repeatedly selling to questionable buyers.
William G. McMahon, special agent in charge of the ATF's New York field division, announced Friday that the agency would review the intelligence gathered by the city and target any federally licensed firearms dealers who broke the law.
In a twist, ATF's inquiry will also include a review of whether the city acted legally in setting up the sting.
Several gun-rights advocates have questioned whether the city itself broke firearms rules or committed fraud by attempting to simulate straw sales in other states.
When the news of these stings broke, I called the ATF and asked this very question. The answer I got from the front line guy who answered the phone was truly scary. His exact quote (as best I remember it) was:
If it was done by the Government, then it can't be illegal.
Scary huh?
[line]
Story By Newsday.Com
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is examining the results of an unusual sting set up by the City of New York, in which private investigators recorded themselves purchasing handguns at shops in several states.
Acting independently of law enforcement, the investigators took hidden cameras into stores to test whether they would participate in a type of transaction known as a "straw purchase," where one person illegally buys a gun on behalf of someone else.
The exercise was conducted primarily to support a civil lawsuit, filed by the city last week, accusing 15 gun shops in five states of repeatedly selling to questionable buyers.
William G. McMahon, special agent in charge of the ATF's New York field division, announced Friday that the agency would review the intelligence gathered by the city and target any federally licensed firearms dealers who broke the law.
In a twist, ATF's inquiry will also include a review of whether the city acted legally in setting up the sting.
Several gun-rights advocates have questioned whether the city itself broke firearms rules or committed fraud by attempting to simulate straw sales in other states.