Red’s Trading Post in Twin Falls, Idaho, is the state’s oldest gun shop, opened since 1936. In 2004, a routine BATFE audit revealed minor clerical errors. According to Red’s, out of nearly ten THOUSAND firearms transferred between 1996 and 2004, the alleged error rate did not even reach 1%. Even the BATFE acknowledges these are minor paperwork errors — there are no missing firearms and no willful illegal acts.
And yet the BATFE has revoked the ability of Red’s Trading Post to acquire firearms for resale, although they’re still permitted to sell the firearms in stock … for now. But that’s not enough — the BATFE wants to revoke Red’s license permanently.
Red’s appealed, was denied, and are now headed to federal court. They have spent over two years and $20,000 in legal fees in this battle and are now taking it public. You can read more about Red’s Trading Post at http://www.redstradingpost.com/atf.php and view their fact sheet (in MS Word format) at www.jpfo.org/redsatffactsheet.doc .
The Red’s Trading Post site even includes an article about a competitor — Blue Lakes Sporting Goods — who was similarly railroaded by the BATFE. In an act of supreme hubris, the BATFE actually denied the Blue Lakes the right to appeal until AFTER they were in the middle of a “Going Out of Business” sale!
Unfortunately, as our readers know, this is hardly unusual behavior for the BATFE.
Having personally been a witness to BATFE harassment in my teen years (long story. too long for today), this surprised me little when I read about it at Knowledge is Power.
JPFO (Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership) , an organization you should belong to, is helping get the word out about Red’s and is taking donations to get their documentary about the BATFE called “The Gang” out at this link.
Meanwhile, click the link at the top of this post and take a looksee at Red’s auctions. Every dollar you give them will more than likely go towards fighting the BATFE over the revocation of their license, so lend ’em a hand.
The State government of Idaho is very pro-Second Amendment, and very pro-business. Why don’t they put two and two together here and come up with four?
It would be very easy for the Governor to memorialize President Bush on this one, and at least get the gun shop the appeal rights that all others under some type of federal scrutiny enjoy.
It’s Bush’s BATFE, if he is one of us, why is he beating us over the head with this out-of-control Federal agency?
Once again, this almost appears to be a case of Clinton’s people hanging on and Bush not doing enough to root them out of a Federal agency.
Why hasn’t a conservative group put together a little investigation on the Federal Bureaucracy and how much it DIDN’T change under Bush?