Rep. Thomas Masse (R-KY) confronted Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Director Steve Dettelbach over the government agency asking federal firearms licensees (FFL) in border states to report cash transactions.
“Are you aware that it’s illegal for you to create a registry of gun owners in the United States,” Rep Masse asked Dettelbach.
Rep. Masse was referencing an interview that Mr. Dettelbach did with CBS’s “60 Minutes.” It was the same interview where the ATF’s firearms “expert” could not disassemble or assemble a Glock pistol. In the interview, Dettelbach pointed out that someone could buy a Barrett .50 cal in cash. He said that FFLs should report cash purchases to the ATF. Many in the gun community took issue with this statement because it is not illegal to buy firearms with cash, and in many cases, gun owners prefer to use cash, especially since programs such as “Operation Choke Point” exist.
Operation Choke Point was an operation launched by the government to crack down on banks that dealt with the firearms industry by classifying such businesses as “high risk.” The firearms industry concluded that the government was using its power to infringe on the rights of Americans because the rate of fraud in the firearms world is lower than the national average. The chances of someone committing fraud after handing over legal documentation and going through a background check are low.
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