The old ATF lost public trust because too often it became a regulatory lightning rod instead of a crime-fighting agency. Stabilizing braces, shifting definitions, unfinished receivers, administrative games, and litigation circus acts did not make America safer. Fast and Furious was worse: a catastrophic government malpractice scandal that let guns walk into cartel hands and left blood on the floor, including the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Robert Cekada represents the corrective. Respect lawful gun owners. Protect constitutional liberty. Cooperate with state and local law enforcement. Use ATF’s real expertise on explosives, arson, trafficking, gangs, and violent repeat offenders. A gun is not the enemy. The armed criminal is.
I agree. I’m friends with Bobby Cekada as well as Pete Forcelli who’s quoted in this as well all the other F&F whistleblowers and the Terry family. Conversations about F&F amongst us were very upsetting and the entire thing continues to be a horrendous ordeal. My friend Carlos Canino was ATF’s Attaché in Mexico City and when CC testified to Congress he said, “I am not ashamed to admit that I cried”. And then I felt better because I crying for months before that news broke on 60 Minutes. We all were and the agents are good. This is terrific for ATF. Bobby is a real street agent.
Odd. The last time I looked at the Second Amendment, it did not say, "to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed, unless said infringement is done by BATF regulations."
Nor am I reassured by the new director's long history in law enforcement. Cops as a general rule really don't much like the notion of firearms in the hands of private citizens. They will tolerate it if forced by law to do so, but they really don't like it.
Come back and read that comment in a year. Keep an open mind. These agents are all very pro 2A and they’re sick of being pawns of the left politically so it’s a GREAT to have a real street agent who’s rolling back all the stupid and meaningless regulations and focus on ATF’s ability to reduce crime. Believe it or not they’re actually an excellent law-enforcement agency, but they got a bad rap because every time we have the left in power, they use ATF to enforce a bunch of stupid laws that the agents don’t even want to do.
But they enforce them anyway. Remember Ruby Ridge? Or Waco? Let me refresh your memory about Waco, and the actions of those "real street agents" in creating and carrying out that massacre:
And inevitably the left will return to power at some point. A better solution would be to repeal the NFA and disband the BATF. But that won't happen because governments, whether right or left, fear an armed citizenry which they see as a threat to their ability to seek power and control through the use of naked force. And they are correct to feel that fear, which is precisely why the Framers added the Second to the Constitution.
Besides, don’t you want them to behave as a law-enforcement agency and not a political arm of the left? Like I said come back in a year and I’m sure you will have changed your opinion by then.
He was actually guilty though so if FBI hadn’t fucked it all up he would have been arrested without incident. But they were overruled by the AG and FBI. So you’ve got two incidents that you can point to. One was a group of crazy Davidians systematically raping children and stockpiling an arsenal of grenades and the other is a member of the Nazi party and a white supremacist. That’s who you wanna align yourself with? And as I said before, and I’ll say again, both were done under Democratic leadership. Blame the politicians, not the agents.
Actually, he was not. Unless you approve of government agencies engaging in entrapment, blackmail, and so on. Both of which are…you know…illegal. Look of fruit of the poisoned tree. AFAIC, the BATF is an extremely poisoned tree, right from their very first regulatory infringement on the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the US Constitution, which is a considerably higher law than anything that agency seems to answer to.
If I could make a request of Mr Cekada it would be to scupper the nonsensical 922(r) rules, which are a headache for owners of imported semi-auto shotguns.
The old ATF lost public trust because too often it became a regulatory lightning rod instead of a crime-fighting agency. Stabilizing braces, shifting definitions, unfinished receivers, administrative games, and litigation circus acts did not make America safer. Fast and Furious was worse: a catastrophic government malpractice scandal that let guns walk into cartel hands and left blood on the floor, including the murder of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry. Robert Cekada represents the corrective. Respect lawful gun owners. Protect constitutional liberty. Cooperate with state and local law enforcement. Use ATF’s real expertise on explosives, arson, trafficking, gangs, and violent repeat offenders. A gun is not the enemy. The armed criminal is.
I agree. I’m friends with Bobby Cekada as well as Pete Forcelli who’s quoted in this as well all the other F&F whistleblowers and the Terry family. Conversations about F&F amongst us were very upsetting and the entire thing continues to be a horrendous ordeal. My friend Carlos Canino was ATF’s Attaché in Mexico City and when CC testified to Congress he said, “I am not ashamed to admit that I cried”. And then I felt better because I crying for months before that news broke on 60 Minutes. We all were and the agents are good. This is terrific for ATF. Bobby is a real street agent.
Odd. The last time I looked at the Second Amendment, it did not say, "to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed, unless said infringement is done by BATF regulations."
Nor am I reassured by the new director's long history in law enforcement. Cops as a general rule really don't much like the notion of firearms in the hands of private citizens. They will tolerate it if forced by law to do so, but they really don't like it.
Come back and read that comment in a year. Keep an open mind. These agents are all very pro 2A and they’re sick of being pawns of the left politically so it’s a GREAT to have a real street agent who’s rolling back all the stupid and meaningless regulations and focus on ATF’s ability to reduce crime. Believe it or not they’re actually an excellent law-enforcement agency, but they got a bad rap because every time we have the left in power, they use ATF to enforce a bunch of stupid laws that the agents don’t even want to do.
But they enforce them anyway. Remember Ruby Ridge? Or Waco? Let me refresh your memory about Waco, and the actions of those "real street agents" in creating and carrying out that massacre:
https://wacohistory.org/items/show/177
And inevitably the left will return to power at some point. A better solution would be to repeal the NFA and disband the BATF. But that won't happen because governments, whether right or left, fear an armed citizenry which they see as a threat to their ability to seek power and control through the use of naked force. And they are correct to feel that fear, which is precisely why the Framers added the Second to the Constitution.
Ruby Ridge was the FBI, not ATF.
Ruby Ridge was set off by an ATF attempt to illegally entrap and then blackmail Randy Weaver into becoming an informant for the ATF.
Besides, don’t you want them to behave as a law-enforcement agency and not a political arm of the left? Like I said come back in a year and I’m sure you will have changed your opinion by then.
I want the whole agency disbanded. And no, since I’ve held that opinion for decades, I won’t be changing it in a year.
He was actually guilty though so if FBI hadn’t fucked it all up he would have been arrested without incident. But they were overruled by the AG and FBI. So you’ve got two incidents that you can point to. One was a group of crazy Davidians systematically raping children and stockpiling an arsenal of grenades and the other is a member of the Nazi party and a white supremacist. That’s who you wanna align yourself with? And as I said before, and I’ll say again, both were done under Democratic leadership. Blame the politicians, not the agents.
Actually, he was not. Unless you approve of government agencies engaging in entrapment, blackmail, and so on. Both of which are…you know…illegal. Look of fruit of the poisoned tree. AFAIC, the BATF is an extremely poisoned tree, right from their very first regulatory infringement on the right to keep and bear arms guaranteed by the US Constitution, which is a considerably higher law than anything that agency seems to answer to.
I say YAY‼️🙏👌🎉🎊💕❤️😻
Dreaming is free
Thanks for this piece Roger!
If I could make a request of Mr Cekada it would be to scupper the nonsensical 922(r) rules, which are a headache for owners of imported semi-auto shotguns.