U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “ATF FATD [Firearms and Ammunition Technology Division] answered my industry submission after four-and-one-half years,” firearms designer and Historic Arms LLC President Len Savage notes in a May 17 email to friends and colleagues disparagingly characterized by United States Attorneys as “a tangled web of connections between a small cadre of firearms activists.”
“Please see the attached response [embeded below] and please note my submission letter (also attached). Also attached are emails with FATD over this submission,” Savage advised, including documents embedded below. He followed up with some questions carrying serious implications.[Len Savage sent ATF parts of an unassembled firearm, ATF returned a completed gun.]
“Did ATF manufacture an SBR [short-barreled rifle]?” he asked. “Did they properly mark their manufactured SBR?”
“I have yet to receive the firearm back,” Savage added.
So it took “four-and-a-half years” to get an answer on a routine request that it’s their job to provide…? To highlight the absurdity of that, Savage noted in his correspondence to ATF that “Your staff has taken so long to respond though the return postage has gone up twice since I sent it to you… My stamps will not be enough for USPS priority mail any longer.”
The firearm parts Savage submitted back in October of 2018 is “based on the AR-15 family of firearms. The upper receiver has a barrel chambered in 5.56 NATO and has a length of 10.5 inches. The lower receiver has an SBA3 Stabilizing Brace installed. The submitted firearm has never had a butt stock installed. As such, it cannot be a rifle since it is NOT DESIGNED to be fired from the shoulder [emphasis in original].”
Of significance here is the condition of the firearm submitted to ATF:
“The submitted firearm has never been assembled.”
ATF’s answer was hardly surprising:
“FTISB has determined that the submitted firearm is a weapon that is equipped with an accessory that provides surface area that allows the weapon to be fired from the shoulder, along with other factors as described in paragraph (2) of the regulatory definition of ‘rifle,’ which indicates the weapon is designed, made, and intended to be fired from the shoulder. Therefore, this firearm is a ‘rifle.’
Additionally, because the barrel length of this firearm is under 16 inches, it is properly classified as a ‘short-barreled rifle’ and a ‘firearm’ as defined in the NFA, 26 U.S.C. § 5845(a)(3).”
Also, not surprising was waiting for a new administration, and just before the stabilizing brace rule is to go into effect, before responding.
What was surprising is that in the photos the ATF returned, they showed a fully assembled firearm.
And note at the end of the response letter, the Firearms Technology Industry Service Branch (FTISB) copied the local Special Agent in Charge (SAC) of enforcement and the Director of Industry Operations.
“That was not an accident and leads me to believe I am about to be loved tenderly by ATF (read that either a visit by Special Agents or an Industry Operations inspection),” Savage speculates. “Two weeks until ATF final Rule is engaged… Why now and why notify the local offices?”
Is his concern without foundation? Consider ATF and Savage have a history where he is considered part of that “small cadre” of what they view as troublemakers, and nothing gets rid of a problem like eliminating it.
“The very same ATF who demands I answer them within 24 hours took 1,659 days (or 54 1/2 months) to respond to a licensee (who they are mandated by law to supply guidance to),” he elaborated. “The CC’d individuals demonstrate either an attempt to intimidate or demonstrate they are planning a kinetic response for having dared ask them a guidance question.”
What makes him think that? For starters, there’s a long history that includes occasionally being on opposite sides in civil litigation.
“This is the same agency that has no problem using a confidential informant to garner civil litigation legal strategy,” Savage explained, attaching a recipient/sender redacted email [included in the embedded file, below] from 2008 by ATF’s Litigation Division Associate Chief Counsel asking:
“Why/how does an ATF employee have an informant passing on information about Mr. Savage’s litigation strategy against the government? This can’t be good. I’m copying Ralph, the CC [Chief Counsel] and DCC [Deputy Chief Counsel] to immediately report this troubling development.”
As for the firearm Savage submitted that’s taken four-and-a-half years to get an answer on, he sent a Tuesday update:
“So, I just got back the firearm less than an hour ago,” Savage advised. “I wanted to let the air out of any kinetic response quickly.”
To do that, he included a copy of the acknowledgment email [also embedded below] that he immediately sent off to the FTIB, the SAC, and the DIO, with photographic proof of what he was claiming:
“Upon receipt I immediately removed the subject firearm from jurisdiction of the NFA [National Firearms Act] by replacing the barrel with one greater than 16 inches.”
To further ensure his compliance has been documented, Savage followed that up with another email, again in the embedded file below, requesting “photos taken by your FTSIB shipping and receiving technician back in 2018 of the submitted firearm and packaging… I am basing this request on your statement on page 10 of your response, “Please note this classification only applies to the example exactly as submitted” [emphasis in original], and the photos of the firearm in your response not matching exactly how I submitted the firearm back in 2018.”
As experience has proven, when dealing with a tangled web of unelected bureaucrats not above destroying anyone who gets on their bad side, one really can’t be too careful. Still to be seen: What their reaction to this report will be, which is why the “small cadre” will be keeping its eyes on that.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.
My God, these criminals need to be stopped, arrested & prosecuted. But they should also be treated as the clowns they are and mocked at every opportunity.
they need to be arrested for the anti constitutional stance they take or deported to mexico to see the results of their giving guns to the worst people in a society
Mr. Strange, I hope you are LAWYERED up for the following INVASION by the ILLEGAL ATF agents who might SHOOT FIRST and QUESTION LATER! Have your cameras rolling before you answer the door. NO! I do not trust a group of USEFUL AMERICAN HATERS who have been CAUGHT LYING and DECEIVING the American Citizens. IE: WACCO, Ruby Ridge, etc…….
have mr Barrett or mr stryer answer the door
I wish I was surprised by the ATF’s behavior here.
They continue to show they have zero concern for protecting Americans or the constitution; but instead, they are interested in taking out perceived troublemakers that push back against the politicization of the ATF, FBI, and all branches of INJUSTICE DEPARTMENT.
The BATF’s explicit reason for EXISTING is to inhibit Americans’ ability to exercise their GOD GIVEN natural-rights enumerated in the Constitution of the United States of America – which ATF members, paradoxically, are sworn to PROTECT.
If I want to hold it up against my Johnson when I fire it, THAT’s my buisness!
Be on high alert; your girlfriend will show up for breakfast some morning and find your front door busted in, your dog shot and you missing.
Violence plays into the hands of .gov and ATF. The tyranny of evil men is best fought by bringing their acts into the light of the public eye. David has carried the load of doing just that for decades. You want to fight the tyranny of ATF? Forward this article to as many members of congress as possible. There is a good reason that all source documents are always included by David. It removes all doubt and the best petard to hoist them on is their own documents that demonstrate unconstitutional actions that are obviously intentional. -Never be afraid to… Read more »
Amen.
Your fault for complying!
I hope there will be armed resistance to any attempted confiscations.
Kill all they send…..no honorable treatment for the traitors. Piss on their graves.
AND MAYBE THEIR FAMILIES SHOULD SUFFER TOO…..THE WAY THEY EXPECT YOURS TO SUFFER WHEN THEY RAID YOUR HOUSE, KILL YOUR DOG, FLOG YOUR FAMILY, PUT YOU IN PRISON FOR TEN YEARS
AND WHAT ABOUT THE TRAITORS IN LEGISLATURES HAPPY TO SEE YOUR FAMILY F*Ck’d?
Do we keep our thumbs up our asses or declare….NOT ONE MORE INFRINGEMENT?
Next week is a good week to die!
Actually…….next week is a good week to MAKE THEM DIE. If you kill enough of them they stop fighting. Kill em where they live, in their cars at the diner. The atf is a criminal unconstitutional organization. No basis in the constitution. NO AMERICAN would be part of atf. They have declared war on you. They ARE A DOMESTIC ENEMY!!! Time to make a statement. What if hitler had been killed in 1936? What if Stalin had been killed in 1930? What if mao had been killed in the 50’s? Do we stand around with thumbs up our asses while… Read more »
Friend or family member employed by ATF?
Encourage them to find another job.
Read Unintended Consequences by John Ross! It’s available on the internet as a.pdf file. It is an interesting work of fiction!
I have read that twice. Very interesting, and very good. But reading the comments here, it is obvious that these people have no idea of opsec. Calling out that you want to shoot and kill government agents is not very smart, nor is it a good idea even if you are just blowing off some steam. The term for it is sometimes called conspiracy, and will get you a nice jail term. And don’t forget that unlike the nice story about how if only we had made those who arrested the people and we just waited in our homes, afraid… Read more »
AMEN! You seem to be a realist. I have read only 2/3s of Unintended Consequences. It is an interesting fantasy, complete with Superheroes. Totally unrealistic, but a fun read!
Read the rest. May see the ending happen