“Federal authorities say they are investigating a report about a bogus letter purportedly written by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to at least one Vermont gun store claiming the U.S. Government was temporarily suspending the Second Amendment right to have guns,” the Vermont Daily Chronicle reported Monday.
It goes beyond Vermont. A version of the letter targeted to Houston-area Federal Firearms Licensees is embedded below.
“Constitutional rights are a privilege for American citizens, not a guarantee,” the purported “Notice of Enhanced Protection Policies for Homeland Security Agents,” dated Jan. 26, begins. Citing its purpose “to better safeguard the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during upcoming deployment actions,” it declares, “the United States Government is instituting a temporary suspension of the rights granted by the Second Ammendment [sic] of the United State Constitution.”
Not knowing how to spell “Amendment” is a major clue. It then mandates the FFL and employees to:
[I]mmediately provide a full inventory and record of any and all firearms located on site, along with a log of any personnel with access to said firearms. Failure to comply or providing an inaccurate account may subject you to criminal prosecution.
Declare firearms being caried and surrender them. “Failure to do so in a timely manner will be interpreted as a deliberate act of domestic terrorism, which may result in both prosecution and aggressive response by government officers.”
Display the notice “until rescinded,” noting “Removal … will be considered destruction of government property and will result in prosecution.”
This is obviously a clumsy attempt at stirring the pot and creating divisions between the administration and Second Amendment supporters. That it follows high-profile events in Minneapolis and ill-conceived statements by administration officials disparaging armed citizens makes looking into who is behind this spreading effort and their political motivations worth investigating, including if the intent has anything to do with sowing distrust before the midterms.
Click the link to read the whole article: ATF Warns of Hoax Homeland Security Letter
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