ATF and rights restoration.

[dantodd]

With all the discussion of earmarks is it advisable to try and get a congresscritter to earmark funding for the ATF group that reviews rights reinstatement requests?

My experience is that any federal program like that would be damn near impossible to kill and would mean that many people would have a path to regaining their 2A rights.

However; this would also take away some of the powder from legal challenges regarding certain convictions because those people would have recourse where today there is none.

So, to earmark and help many now or leave the program dormant and work through the courts to narrow prohibiting offenses?

[anthonyca]

I thought about this also. What if someone wanted to pay for it themselves instead of going through the courts? The problem is I see is the ATF already doesn't care about rights so giving them the final say is not going to get anyone's rights restored.

How is this process currently supposed to work? I know there is no funding.

[cmichini]

ATF's job (just like CA DOJ) is to create criminals from law-abiding intentioned citizens. They are NOT there to help you, protect your rights or fight in the name of justice.
They are there to manipulate the wording of the laws (intent of the laws be damned) to create criminals and thereby justify their existence in the government budget.

At least that's how I view their reason for being. YMMV

[Uriah02]

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/256019/traver-target-kevin-d-williamson

This Op-Ed sums up the direction of the BATFE quiet well.

[dustoff31]

With all the discussion of earmarks is it advisable to try and get a congresscritter to earmark funding for the ATF group that reviews rights reinstatement requests?

My experience is that any federal program like that would be damn near impossible to kill and would mean that many people would have a path to regaining their 2A rights.

However; this would also take away some of the powder from legal challenges regarding certain convictions because those people would have recourse where today there is none.

So, to earmark and help many now or leave the program dormant and work through the courts to narrow prohibiting offenses?

Very little chance for any politicians to place earmarks on this deal for several reasons:

1. Earmarks aren't really in vogue right now.
2. It simply isn't important to them. They haven't seen fit to fund it so far, why would they now?
3. They or their friends and familes can't profit from it in any way.
4. None of them want to run on "I helped put guns back in the hands of felons/druggies/wife beaters, etc." or defend themselves against those charges by opponents.

[Beatone]

ATF's job (just like CA DOJ) is to create criminals from law-abiding intentioned citizens. They are NOT there to help you, protect your rights or fight in the name of justice.
They are there to manipulate the wording of the laws (intent of the laws be damned) to create criminals and thereby justify their existence in the government budget.

At least that's how I view their reason for being. YMMV

I think you hit the nail on the head, I agree completely.

[Pred@tor]

www.atfabuse.com/ You seriously want those guys to determine whether you have rights or not? The reason im probably never going to get a FFL is because of how they operate and say one thing then the next day its wrong. They can send you a full auto AK in the mail and claim its not a machine gun and then say it is and screw you over. No thanks...

[GrizzlyGuy]

http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...n-d-williamson
This Op-Ed sums up the direction of the BATFE quiet well.

I love this part:

Plenty of earmarked money goes to help unionized workers but things only get worse instead of better. Giving money to BATFE for rights restoration would probably have the same result.

[N6ATF]

Two things that don't belong in the same sentence. ATF and rights. LOL

[AJAX22]

The batfe does not regulate tobacco and alcohol anymore, those are under treasury.

They have a 1.2 billion dollar budget to regulate a 4 billion dollar industry.

And the broadest powers of any enforcement agency.