BATF Using Confiscated Maadi-Griffin List to Threaten Gun Owners

Josey1

BATF Using Confiscated Maadi-Griffin List to Threaten Gun Ownersby Angel ShamayaMarch 20, 2002KeepAndBearArms.com -- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms is harassing gun owners whose names were found on a confiscated gun list, basically scaring them into stamping serial numbers on their receivers.The list of gun owners they are "notifying" was confiscated from Arizona gunkit maker Bob Stewart, who is now sitting in a federal prison in Florence, Arizona awaiting sentencing. Mr. Stewart was found guilty by a jury of his non-peers of being a felon in possession of firearms and of possessing unregistered machineguns -- neither of which was a crime before the NRA-supported National Firearms Act of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968 became unconstitutional laws.The BATF is essentially threatening to use force against the purchasers of the unstamped, unregistered Maadi-Griffin .50 caliber rifle kits if they do not comply. Their "reason" is allegedly because "it will be difficult to trace should it be used in a crime in the future". Nevermind that there is only one recorded case of a .50 caliber rifle being used in a crime in America's history -- by a former police officer gone haywire -- let's pretend we're really doing something to fight crime here, right?Click on each of the two images below to be taken to larger versions, or read the transcripts below. Additional commentary follows these letters and their transcripts.In case you are unable to read the scanned images of these two BATF documents, they are each transcribed below. The first transcript below is the letter:DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURYBUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO AND FIREARMSFebruary 25, 2002CERTIFIED MAIL NUMBER: XXXXXXXXXXX (withheld to protect a potential BATF victim)RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTEDDear Maadi-Griffin Rifle Kit Purchaser,The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has become aware that you are the purchaser of a Maadi-Griffin rifle kit. This kit is a firearm as defined under Title 18, United States Code 921(a)(3).Please be advised that this firearm was manufactured, possessed and sold by the Maadi-Griffin company in violation of Federal law. Because the firearm was involved in these violations, it may be seized and forfeited. However, ATF's primary concern in this matter is that the above-described firearm was sold without being stamped with a serial number and that, therefore, it will be difficult to trace should it be used in a crime in the future.ATF recognizes that you may have purchased this firearm without any knowledge of the above mentioned criminal violations. Therefore, so long as it is otherwise lawful for you to possess firearms under Federal law (ie. so long as, for instance, you have not been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year), you may retain possession of the Maadi-Griffin firearm you have purchased under the following conditions:(1) within thirty (30) calendar days after your receipt of this letter, you must call Special Agent XXXXXXXXXXX at (XXX) XXX-XXXX, and obtain a serial number;(2) within forty-five (45) calendar days after your receipt of this letter, you must have this serial number stamped on the receiver of the firearm, and;(3) within forty-five calendar days after your receipt of this letter, you must complete the enclosed certification form and submit it to ATF [address of local BATF office withheld so BATF doesn't know who to target with their sub-American, state-sanctioned violence].As an alternative, you may abandon the firearm to an ATF Special Agent.We appreciate your cooperation in this matter.Sincerely,BATF Agent's Name Withheld so BATF doesn't know which office this letter came out of, to reduce the chance of violence against an innocent American citizen Next is the transcript of the form that accompanied the letter:CERTIFICATIONI HEREBY CERTIFY, UNDER PENALTY OF PERJURY, THAT I HAVE STAMPED SERIAL NUMBER _____________ ON THE RECEIVER OF MY MAADI-GRIFFIN FIREARM.I HAVE MADE THIS CERTIFICATION FREELY AND VOLUNTARILY, AND WITHOUT ANY COERCION OR DURESS.Signed: _________________Printed Name: _________________Date: __________________ATF Special Agent Witness: _______________________Printed Name/Date: ___________________________ COMMENTARYFirst, I find it fascinating that the BATF expects a person to sign something saying that there is no coercion or duress to get their receivers stamped. The definition of duress is "constraint by threat" -- and this move on BATF's part carries the full weight of a threat of physical assault, with BATF machineguns, against any who do not comply. Leave it to BATF to lie through their teeth under the color of unconstitutional gun law; it's pretty much who they are these days.Next, I honestly wonder how many owners of the Maadi-Griffin kit could comply if they wanted to. By the time these letters were received and read, several days had already passed. Finding a machinist to do the engraving to federal specification -- which includes a certain depth into the metal and probably other criteria I haven't looked up yet -- could prove a challenge for people who live in rural areas. Furthermore, a thinking person might wonder if the BATF will assault a machinist who does the engraving if that machinist is not a licensed firearm manufacturer. After all, doing machinist work on the receiver of a firearm could feasibly be considered taking part in the manufacturing process -- especially by such disingenuous and inauthentic people as some of the thugs at BATF. If I were an owner of Mr. Stewart's rifle kit, before I would get the receiver engraved (if I were going to do so), I'd first ask my local BATF agent if the engraving had to be done by a licensed firearm manufacturer -- to protect myself and him.Finally, I wonder if BATF knows something we don't about what's coming down in the way of gun control. Considering that there is only one documented case of a .50 caliber rifle being criminally misused, it's not like this kit is any real threat -- unless they intend to make Mr. Stewart's 3,000 customers want to shoot somebody.Then again, when you've got a bloated federal agency whose hired guns busy themselves entrapping gun collectors over asinine technicalities, I suppose they've got to keep themselves busy if they want to keep their jobs.In closing, if you are one of Bob Stewart's 3,000 customers of his rifle kit, you'd better believe the BATF will be at your door if you don't comply. And if you live in an area governed by the 9th circuit court, you can forget about fighting the BATF's arbitrary and capricious finding that the Maadi-Griffin rifle kit is a firearm. I watched Bob Stewart's crooked, oath-breaking judge ignore every sensible plea he presented to argue that issue -- thrown out the window as soon as it was out of his mouth. Your choices are simple: comply, or get ready to tangle with the American Gun Nazis http://www.keepandbeararms.com/newsarchives/XcNewsPlus.asp?cmd=view&articleid=2321

alledan

The man shouldn"t hve kept a list to begin with!

nglitz

He was not manufacturing firearms, he was manufacturing kits. When those kits were completed by his customers, they became home made firearms that are legal under federal law. BATF finished one rather half-assedly and got it to pop a primer. The minor fact that a .50BMG round would have blown it up is conveniently ignored.His felony conviction was bogus. Pure entrapment. He did not posses machine guns. All guns in the house were in his wife's name.Kits do not need serial numbers. Buyers of these kits (not guns) did everything correctly and had nothing to fear until the BATF decided to create crime where there were none.How quickly we turn on a fellow gun owner. If this is the BATF "doing their job", then we don't need this job done.Norm [This message has been edited by nglitz (edited 03-20-2002).]

JudgeColt

I know nothing about this case. However, a "firearm kit" can be a "firearm" if the kit is "readily" convertable or restorable to firing condition. Suppose I sell you a gun kit that is complete except for a simple bolt or pin. Once the bolt or pin is installed, the firearm is functional. Under the definition, I have sold you a "firearm" and I had better be a licensed manufacturer and the receiver had better have a serial number on it to be in compliance with the law. While we may all feel all of this violates the Second Amendment, until the Supreme Court says it does, we can only complain. While there may be abuse in the definition of "readily" in this case, I speculate that is the basis of the conviction for making guns without a manufacturing license. If the conviction was wrong, I assume he is appealing the conviction.

offeror

Yes, apparently the few little parts in an auto-sear kit is a machine gun, so I have no doubt they can say a .50 kit is a gun if they want to. Whether guns must have serial numbers or not I don't know. I'm sure it's a crime to deface an existing serial number, but don't know the law about adding one to a new manufactured "kit" receiver. And I'm sure some of the ATF staff don't either.

---

"The 2nd Amendment is about defense, not hunting. Long live the gun shows, and reasonable access to FFLs. Join the NRA -- I'm a Life Member."

boeboe

I've cut a section from the following site to brief posters on a bit of the past history of this case.http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=17532____________________________________________WorldNetDaily spoke to the well-known and highly-decorated former Green Beret/talk show host, Bo Gritz, who is a friend of the Stewarts. Mrs. Stewart, who was briefly handcuffed during the raid, told Gritz the federal agents were at the house from 7 a.m. until about 5:30 p.m., and confiscated all their records and inventory, according to Gritz. Bob Stewart was taken away at about 4 p.m. According to Gritz, Naomi Stewart said that when the BATF claimed to find about 40 guns in their house, her husband Bob whispered into her ear: "Those are not our guns; they're planting those guns." Gritz told WorldNetDaily the Stewarts were living in Utah about six years ago when Bob Stewart was featured on two magazine covers with his self-designed rifle. The BATF subsequently raided his store and asked him to stop building the Maadi-Griffin. He refused to comply, based on the Second Amendment. A couple of days later, according to Gritz, two men entered Stewart's shop with an AR-15 and asked him to "tighten the scope." As soon as Stewart applied a screwdriver to the weapon, the two men pulled out their ATF badges and arrested him because the AR-15 had been modified to fire fully automatically. "Now they had him working on an illegal machine gun," said Gritz. "His wife told me they didn't have a lawyer, and the government talked them into plea bargaining." The resulting felony charge made Stewart unable legally to possess a firearm, leaving him facing a 10-year sentence for each gun reportedly found in his home on Friday. Gritz said Naomi Stewart told him that the BATF threatened her with a paper allegedly containing her signature, which could serve as evidence that the Stewarts were manufacturing machine guns. Mrs. Stewart has her parents staying with her in case the BATF decides to come back and arrest her. Gritz said Bob Stewart makes $144 per gun. He praised the Maadi-Griffin as "an awesome gun" that is made of the finest materials and craftsmanship, yet is affordable. He believes that combination made it only a matter of time before the ATF came to get Stewart. __________________________________________I guess it becomes a question of when YOU will reach the point that you should make a stand for your Second Ammendment Rights. Others, such as Stewart, have been singled out because they don't quite fit the norm. When will YOU reach your limit? When they start coming door to door asking for your guns? When they start breaking through doors to take them? When all gun lovers are "outside the norm" and the only ones who legally own them are the ones who are trying to take them away from everyone else, are you just going to say, "well, all guns are against the law, and we have to obey the law, so that settles that".The comment "Anyone who bought one of these guns should have known better" really takes the cake. These kits were being sold on the front page of Shotgun News using big colored ads a couple of years ago. To say that someone "should have known better" than to buy something offered for sale on the front page of Shotgun News just really doesn't show much thought. Well, I guess I better stay away from the Yugoslavian SKS and the Makarov, because they are advertized on the front page of SGN, just like those BMG 50 kits were. Get real.[This message has been edited by boeboe (edited 03-20-2002).]

boeboe

yeah, right....Just how many BMGs do you own, Saxon? I would be most likely to think you didn't buy one because you weren't interested in them. Or have you bought and assembled one or more of the other kits/plans they still sell for them?But I suppose if a person buys some bar stock, a lathe, a mill, a barrel blank, and some plans they might just as well admit they bought a gun. Should have known better, huh?[This message has been edited by boeboe (edited 03-21-2002).]

JudgeColt

If it takes bar stock, a mill and a lathe to make it a "firearm," it is not "readily" convertable or restorable into a firearm. Where was the gun press on this? Gritz has a radio show and/or a column does he not? Allegations of planted guns would seem to interest the NRA or Washington Times, etc.. Of course just saying it in a brief does not prove it.