‘Of course, such a surveillance scheme would be flatly unconstitutional – not to mention a violation of several safeguards already codified in federal law. Yet slowly but surely, the government has been building a record of the private collections of thousands of American citizens, even though federal law expressly prohibits that “any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions” ..’
When you go to a gun store to buy a new gun, you can expect a few things to happen. First, some paperwork. Second, you can expect to have to pass a background check before leaving with your gun. And third, you can expect that the gun store will keep a record of your purchase for as long as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) requires. After all, that is how the government traces crime guns back to their original purchasers.
But what you might not expect is an FBI agent receiving a ping that you – yes, you – just successfully bought a gun. And you might be surprised to learn that this agent has been receiving notifications of your purchases for months – or years.
Of course, such a surveillance scheme would be flatly unconstitutional – not to mention a violation of several safeguards already codified in federal law. Yet slowly but surely, the government has been building a record of the private collections of thousands of American citizens, even though federal law expressly prohibits that “any system of registration of firearms, firearms owners, or firearms transactions or dispositions” be established.
By Tyler Durden
