ATF seizes 30 air guns
1stCavRVN11B sent this article about ATF seizing a shipment of 30 airsoft guns, claiming that they could easily be converted to “machine guns” (article from KOIN6)
A local business owner is flabbergasted after a shipment of 30 toy guns for his store was confiscated by ATF agents in Tacoma.
Brad Martin and his son, Ben, sell the Airsoft BB guns from their store in Cornelius where they’ve been in business for seven years.
The Martins said they buy their stock from Taiwan because the merchandise is less expensive. But the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives seized a shipment of 30 in October. That shipment is worth around $12,000 and the ATF is promising to destroy the entire shipment.
Special Agent Kelvin Crenshaw said the toys can be easily retro-fitted into dangerous weapons.
“With minimal work it could be converted to a machine gun,” Crenshaw said.
Now, I don’t know much about air-soft, but what I’ve been able to find out is that they fire a missile using pressurized air – every firearm I’ve handled is not like that. It sounds to me like the ATF is over-reacting because the guns don’t have orange paint on the barrel. And I’m wondering if the ATF even knows what a machine gun is at this point, unless Special Agent Crenshaw was talking down to the media.
Airsoft can’t be that rugged if it attracts people like this to the sport, though. I’m sorry, but I forgot who sent me that link last week or so – it’s been keeping me in stitches ever since. Notice each of their profiles mention that their military experience is “classified” – I’d change that to “wussified” for accuracy.
Category: Barack Obama/Joe Biden, Gun Grabbing Fascists, Phony soldiers
Jonn, that link you put up is part of that whole Justin Weiss thing. Evidently there is a forum on their that he is on.
As for the ATF and airsoft guns…….if they think that they are that dangerous, they are either really stupid, or on a power kick.
Airsoft guns fire a 6mm plastic bb using air that is compressed by an electric motor or using compressed propane. They CANNOT be converted to fire real bullets. That being said, back in the day, there were some airsoft revolvers out of Japan that could be converted to fire real bullets. (these were mostly compressed gas guns that used special shells to hold the BBs, they converted to fire .22cal) These guns have been banned from being built for years! So unless this distributer found a stash of these old guns, this is just bullshit. We do have to remember, this is the same government whose DEA agents claimed that an air pistol was a 9mm… (second season DEA – I’ve got the screen capture to prove it)
Well, the paranoid voice in me says that this is just a preview of things to come from an administration that ignores the Constitution regularly. The sensible voice says that this is just an act of stupidity on the part of an ATF agent that isn’t that smart to begin with, especially if he thinks that we are that stupid to believe him saying they could be converted. Unfortunately, most citizens that buy this guys bs don’t know thing one about weapons and will take what he says as gospel (my m-i-l).
Just contact the aclu who hates government in any form, and they can sue for you. Because these are not firearms and the seizure was illegal. It is that simple. And sue the individual agents for violating your rights under color of law.
This ties right in with Eric Holder announcing last Friday that DOJ would like to see the “Assault Weapons Ban” back in place.
Airsoft guns are less dangerous than a Daisy Red Ryder, and just further shows the level of moron that now works for ATF.
Remember: “Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms belong on store shelves, NOT as a Federal Agency”.
What in the hell was that link? Those guys take their role playing seriously eh?
A co-worker just brought up a good point. He said; maybe the airsoft story was a cover for something else the ATF was after? Maybe there was some illegal activity going on with the importer or something else and the ATF was using the guns as a cover story? If that were the case, then the agent is still a moron for using such a flimsy cover story.
We used to play with them i nthe barracks. The MP’s got on to us about taking the litle orange things off the end because it looked too much like a real weapon. Never did they say that the TOYS were in any way dangerous. Just that we had to put the orange things back on the end, and stop shooting anyone who walked by because people were getting pissed.
We have some airsoft and I did tell my kids not to take that sticker off…
Hey OT…any updates on SGT. Owens?
I was reading like a fiend this weekend to see if I could find something….anything to add to the mix. Found a familiar name and tried to make a few connections. No dice.
” They could be made to accept the most flagrent violations of reality…and were not suficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. All that was required of them was primitive patriotism” Eric Blair
defend, yeah, my nepwhew took the orange tip off and I said it would be better to put it back on.
As for the other thing…..I wish TSO would fricken call me back so I can give him a contact to follow up with, but alas, he’s ignoring me (I must have pissed him off or something) so I will gather what intel I have and go over it with a man who was in Easy Company and knows pretty much all of them and those that are still alive, so we might be able to get somewhere with that.
Old Trooper, TSO is in DC today rubbing elbows with distasteful people.
Yeah, but I left him messages last Friday and Saturday! That’s ok. If you could send me an email with all the stuff in it, including Owen’s serial number, I will talk to this guy tomorrow (that’s what we have set up) and I will take it from there.
Danny McKight is into airsoft in a big way. Check out Lionclaws events.
At this point, you sohuld contact your local law enforcement agency and inform them that the every agent at yuor local BATFE is in possession of a a device that can be modified with “minimal work” to become a machine gun, SBR, shory shotgun, or other destructive device, and that said device already incorporates an integral sound suppressor. Then, your local cops should go impound every vehicle in the BATFE parking lot.
Just sayin’. Precedent works both ways
Is this the same ATF who ordered up and refurbished 22 surplussed USMC OV-10D Bronco aircraft and left the weapon hardpoints on them? And updated the FLIR packages on them? Then had them all painted in subdued livery? All of that for civilian law enforcement? Really? You need a 300-mph gun platform with night attack capabilities for chasing down rum runners, cigarette thieves and street thugs selling shotguns with the serial numbers scratched off? Really?
Jonn,
Good call on the link. I went and looked at the “Death Dealers”. What a bunch of maroons. Every one wearing the old woodland cami’s. And two of them can’t keep their rank straight. A SGT wearing PFC insignia. A CPL wearing SSG or SFC rank. WTF?? Not to mention the non-regulation beards & moustaches. If I had the time to laugh, I would. But for now, all I can do is shake my head and sigh. . . .
If a kid can be suspended from school over a 3 1/2″ GI Joe doll rifle, would this be surprising?
Nuf Sed
Claymore; the excuse for all that was they were purchased for BATF drug interdiction missions. My question would be this: Isn’t that why we have a DEA? It seems like BATF is involved in a whole lot of stuff that has nothing to do with alcohol, tobacco, or firearms. I suppose they could tie into pretty much anything if they wanted to, for example; a drug smuggler is probably armed, so BATF has a piece of that action, or the drug lords smoke and drink, so they can use tobacco and alcohol as the excuse.
Claymore…BATF only got the OV10’s because the real “spooky” people bought up all the black helicopters….wanted to point that out for ya…thanks
Oh, well since you put it that way, that makes perfect sense…I mean, just look at Miami Vice, Airwolf and Blue Thunder…the bad guys are virtually bristling with anti-aircraft batteries, armored Lamborghini’s, and a ship that made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs…clearly the ATF could use a few well armed slow movers in their arsenal. Clearly.
Claymore: Don’t be dissing the Falcon! It may not be much too look at, but she’s got it where it counts!
Supposedly, those Bronco’s have all been transferred out of BATF hands now, but who knows.
The more I think about this it was probably a case of the ATF getting information that a big shipment of guns came through, but it ended up being airsoft guns. They had to justify it in some way. Personally I think that the ATF and the DEA need to be completely reworked. Have them rolled over into homeland security. Then use both of their resources to track dangerous drug dealers and real threats. Maybe concentrate on the meth, guns and people that are being smuggled north from Mexico.
I’d prefer to have the ATF and DEA shut down permanently. I can see no good use for either organizations.
Living proof that bureaucrats are stupid. And left/libtards think they should run healthcare.
I’m heavily into airsoft – between my brother and me, we own 10+ airsoft guns – and the line being pushed by the ATF is (of course) complete crock. As familyguy said earlier, most airsoft guns these days are electric air compressors (Automatic Electric Guns, AEGs) with completely different mechanics than any real firearm. That extends to the gas and spring variants, as well. Moreover, the bodies of most airsoft guns these days would be far too fragile to be stable platforms for shooting capabilities even if they could be modified as such.
This kind of alarmism is especially irritating as most people don’t really know enough about airsoft to make a judgment either way, so a lot of them get swept up in the paranoia coming from ignorant agents in the media or government.
When asked to comment on the ATF’s seizure of the airsoft guns, Erik Holder said “Hey, you’ll shoot your eye out kid. “