Saturday, October 06, 2007

BATFU Asserts Power to Rule Wyoming

“The (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) simply does not agree, on a policy basis, with the Wyoming Legislature's decision and has self-appointed itself the omnipotent role of deciding who should, and should not, possess firearms,” attorneys on behalf of Wyoming argued in court papers this summer.

The federal agency told the state that if its law stayed on the books, they would no longer recognize more than 10,000 Wyoming concealed weapons permits as a substitute for federal background checks for firearms purchases. Such background checks are required under the federal Brady Act.
Gee, how come all the antis aren't screaming "home rule" this time?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

The State of Wyoming should retaliate.

Declare every Wyomingite to be a member of the unorganized Wyoming State militia, and handle all firearms sales for them.

Form 10 tax free NFA transfers of machineguns without background checks for residents as members of the militia is entirely within the state's powers to provide its own police and militia.

Just make the purchase with ANY dealer, and have the State of Wyoming appoint agents to act as State Armorers. The State Armorer hands the purchase to the buyer as his "issue weapon".

Heh.

If the BATFE thought Wyoming was pissing on them, they have no clue how far a state can go.

Anonymous said...

Better yet, expel every federal law enforcement member from the state as undesirables. arrest any that thereafter enter and provide them felony prison terms.

Anonymous said...

That one won't work ... the US congress made it unlawful for state and local officials to interfere with federal officials doing their duties ... arrest feds and the local sheriff can find himself getting Waco'ed.

But declaring everyone in the state a "police officer" or a "militiaman" is entirely within the law.

Montana did it to deep six congress's "safe Schools" act ... they simply declared any armed Montanan to by a policeman in regards to school safety.

Anonymous said...

That wouldn't be interfering with their lawful duties, it would be punishihg them for their unlawful presence.

Anonymous said...

As a long time resident of the Great State of Wyoming, I can tell you in no uncertain terms we, as a state, have an almost inate distrust of the fed-gov. Maybe it's the fact that so much of the state is "owned" by them, or that those federal agencies that are most visible (BLM, NPS, USFS, etc) tend to make things up as they go. But for as long as I can remember, folks in Wyoming have thought that Washington should stay in Washington, and should stay the hell out of their back yards.