I caught this news on the way home last night and Sebastian has more here and here. Wal-mart has entered into a voluntary agreement with Mayor Bloomberg to "self police" their gun sales in the interests of stopping illegal gun crime. This is nothing short of a betrayal of their customers trust and their rights in many ways.
I don't shop at Wal-mart often but this guarantees that I will never set foot in one of their stores again.
When it broke and I heard about the 10 point plan, the first question that popped into my head is: "What are the 10 points of this ass raping Wal-mart just handed to gun owners and law abiding citizens?".
It took me a bit but I found it. Here is the 10 point plan that Bloomberg has gotten Wal-mart to agree to: (Source here and here.)
The 10 points of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership are:
1. Videotaping the Point of Sale for All Firearms Transactions. Participating retailers will videotape the point-of-sale of all firearms transactions and maintain videos for 6 months to deter illegal purchases and monitor employees.
This one I don't have much a problem with given a lot of regular gun shops have cameras that record on the premises. It is the right of any retailer in any business to do this and we have no control over their retention. I wouldn't get too spun up on this one.
2. Computerized Crime Gun Trace Log and Alert System. Mayors Against Illegal Guns will develop a computerized system that participating retailers will implement over time to log crime gun traces relating to the retailer. Once the program is in place, if a customer who has a prior trace at that retailer attempts to purchase a firearm, the sale will be electronically flagged. The retailer would have discretion to proceed with the sale or stop the sale.
This one is the betrayal. This is a massive overreach on the part of Bloomberg and Wal-mart and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. First and foremost is, "Where are they going to get the trace data from?". The BATFE doesn't release this information to non-law enforcement. Heard of the Tiahrt Amendment, Mr. Bloomberg? That's right, you have! You hate it.
This requirement might well be a good sound bite and feel good measure that cannot be done. The only way to do it is to overturn Tiahrt. Unless Bloomberg has decided to "help" Wal-mart out of local resources. This one needs to be watched very closely since it is also a violation of personal privacy. It is not Wal-mart's job to maintain a database on private citizens they feel is suspicious with regard to firearms.
Remember, a trace is not an indicator of criminal activity! Bloomberg and his anti-gun cronies tend to omit that part. The BATFE says so themselves. Guns are traced routinely and many come back clean as part of family members bringing them into police, police investigating a natural death of someone who owns guns and their guns are traced as a matter of routine. And on and on. Trace does not equal crime.
3. Purchaser Declaration. For sales flagged by the trace alert system, participating retailers will ask purchasers to fill out a declaration indicating that they meet the legal requirement to purchase the firearm.
With #2 above, Wal-mart maintaining a private database using illegally held data and notifying the customer that they have. What if you refuse to sign their declaration? That goes above and beyond Federal and State requirements for purchase? Can private gun retailers impose their own private restrictions on firearm sales? I'd say no and I'd say to do so is to invite a civil rights lawsuit.
4. Deterring Fake IDs. Participating retailers will only accept valid federal- or state-issued picture IDs as primary identification. Retailers will utilize additional ID checking mechanisms.
What mechanisms? As long as they aren't refusing ID permissible under Federal and State law (listed on the back of 4473), this is worthless.
5. Consistent Visible Signage Consistent Visible Signage. Participating retailers will post signage created by the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership to alert customers of their legal responsibilities at the point-of-sale.
Most retailers already post similar signage. Usually from the BATFE. Like "Don't lie for the other guy!". But posting the Bloomberg signs will let everyone know that you've gotten into bed with this authoritarian scumbag and his ideas of gun control.
6. Employee Background Checks Employee Background Checks. Participating retailers will conduct criminal background checks for all employees selling or handling firearms.
I thought most gun retailers already did this given that it is a crime for a prohibited person to even set foot inside a gun store? No objection here.
7. Employee Responsibility Training. Participating retailers will participate in an employee responsibility training program focused on deterring illegal purchasers. The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership will create an online training system based on Wal-Mart’s training program.
Want to bet this program will include "training" on how to recognize suspicious people? Mostly useless. At best, it might help identify someone with their boyfriend/girlfriend buying a gun together and too many questions or coaching going on. In which case, Wal-mart would be justified in not selling to them. Which isn't odd since a lot of gun dealers already practice this as a matter of course.
Or perhaps this will be when Wal-mart introduces their low-cost, user friendly personal mind reading system for their employees to use? Must be since that is the only way to know the thoughts of someone making a purchase to determine illegal intent.
8. Inventory Checking. Participating retailers will conduct daily and quarterly audits. Guidelines will be based on Wal-Mart’s existing audit procedures.
Doesn't Federal law already cover this? Failure to maintain proper records as an FFL tends to result in a BATFE performed colonoscopy.
9. No Sales Without Background Check Results. Participating retailers would prohibit sales based on “default proceeds,” which are permitted by law when the background check has not returned a result within 3 days.
And here is the other violation of Federal law. The law specifically allows for a "default proceeds" to permit the sale to complete in the event NICS cannot provide an answer. This was done to ensure that the NICS process or the background check couldn't be abused by the Government by simply taking NICS down.
By doing this, Wal-mart is once again violating the rights of their customers. If Wal-mart waits the 72 hours, doesn't get an answer and releases the gun, they cannot be held liable for later criminal misuse. They followed the law.
Not anymore. Now they are making their own law. I hope they get sued by the first person this happens to. I've never heard of a "defaults proceeds" result occurring to anyone I know. Personally, that is the only one I'm missing from my collection of personal NICS responses. Maybe I should shop at Wal-mart and add the coveted "default proceeds" to my current proceed, delay and deny set. Not likely.
10. Securing Firearms. Participating retailers will maintain firearms kept in customer accessible areas in locked cases or locked to racks.
And this is different than any gun shop how? Doesn't bother me.
Participating retailers will phase in the provisions of Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership over time.
And there is Bloomberg's and Wal-mart's out. With the exception of #2 and #9, the bulk of this is already covered by existing practices and procedures and makes it sound like Bloomberg achieved some groundbreaking result here. He didn't.
But the gun control groups will be crowing about this as a victory by having the nation's biggest retailer brought into line for more "sensible", "common sense" gun control. Which this isn't. But it is one more thing for us to fight and debunk and the people that hear about this won't know the details. Which is exactly the way gun controllers like it.
I hope more people boycott Wal-mart and splash their selling out of their customer's for political gain far and wide. I hope they're proud of themselves.
Sometimes the jackboot does wear a smiley face.
I don't shop at Wal-mart often but this guarantees that I will never set foot in one of their stores again.
When it broke and I heard about the 10 point plan, the first question that popped into my head is: "What are the 10 points of this ass raping Wal-mart just handed to gun owners and law abiding citizens?".
It took me a bit but I found it. Here is the 10 point plan that Bloomberg has gotten Wal-mart to agree to: (Source here and here.)
The 10 points of the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership are:
1. Videotaping the Point of Sale for All Firearms Transactions. Participating retailers will videotape the point-of-sale of all firearms transactions and maintain videos for 6 months to deter illegal purchases and monitor employees.
This one I don't have much a problem with given a lot of regular gun shops have cameras that record on the premises. It is the right of any retailer in any business to do this and we have no control over their retention. I wouldn't get too spun up on this one.
2. Computerized Crime Gun Trace Log and Alert System. Mayors Against Illegal Guns will develop a computerized system that participating retailers will implement over time to log crime gun traces relating to the retailer. Once the program is in place, if a customer who has a prior trace at that retailer attempts to purchase a firearm, the sale will be electronically flagged. The retailer would have discretion to proceed with the sale or stop the sale.
This one is the betrayal. This is a massive overreach on the part of Bloomberg and Wal-mart and it leaves a lot of unanswered questions. First and foremost is, "Where are they going to get the trace data from?". The BATFE doesn't release this information to non-law enforcement. Heard of the Tiahrt Amendment, Mr. Bloomberg? That's right, you have! You hate it.
This requirement might well be a good sound bite and feel good measure that cannot be done. The only way to do it is to overturn Tiahrt. Unless Bloomberg has decided to "help" Wal-mart out of local resources. This one needs to be watched very closely since it is also a violation of personal privacy. It is not Wal-mart's job to maintain a database on private citizens they feel is suspicious with regard to firearms.
Remember, a trace is not an indicator of criminal activity! Bloomberg and his anti-gun cronies tend to omit that part. The BATFE says so themselves. Guns are traced routinely and many come back clean as part of family members bringing them into police, police investigating a natural death of someone who owns guns and their guns are traced as a matter of routine. And on and on. Trace does not equal crime.
3. Purchaser Declaration. For sales flagged by the trace alert system, participating retailers will ask purchasers to fill out a declaration indicating that they meet the legal requirement to purchase the firearm.
With #2 above, Wal-mart maintaining a private database using illegally held data and notifying the customer that they have. What if you refuse to sign their declaration? That goes above and beyond Federal and State requirements for purchase? Can private gun retailers impose their own private restrictions on firearm sales? I'd say no and I'd say to do so is to invite a civil rights lawsuit.
4. Deterring Fake IDs. Participating retailers will only accept valid federal- or state-issued picture IDs as primary identification. Retailers will utilize additional ID checking mechanisms.
What mechanisms? As long as they aren't refusing ID permissible under Federal and State law (listed on the back of 4473), this is worthless.
5. Consistent Visible Signage Consistent Visible Signage. Participating retailers will post signage created by the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership to alert customers of their legal responsibilities at the point-of-sale.
Most retailers already post similar signage. Usually from the BATFE. Like "Don't lie for the other guy!". But posting the Bloomberg signs will let everyone know that you've gotten into bed with this authoritarian scumbag and his ideas of gun control.
6. Employee Background Checks Employee Background Checks. Participating retailers will conduct criminal background checks for all employees selling or handling firearms.
I thought most gun retailers already did this given that it is a crime for a prohibited person to even set foot inside a gun store? No objection here.
7. Employee Responsibility Training. Participating retailers will participate in an employee responsibility training program focused on deterring illegal purchasers. The Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership will create an online training system based on Wal-Mart’s training program.
Want to bet this program will include "training" on how to recognize suspicious people? Mostly useless. At best, it might help identify someone with their boyfriend/girlfriend buying a gun together and too many questions or coaching going on. In which case, Wal-mart would be justified in not selling to them. Which isn't odd since a lot of gun dealers already practice this as a matter of course.
Or perhaps this will be when Wal-mart introduces their low-cost, user friendly personal mind reading system for their employees to use? Must be since that is the only way to know the thoughts of someone making a purchase to determine illegal intent.
8. Inventory Checking. Participating retailers will conduct daily and quarterly audits. Guidelines will be based on Wal-Mart’s existing audit procedures.
Doesn't Federal law already cover this? Failure to maintain proper records as an FFL tends to result in a BATFE performed colonoscopy.
9. No Sales Without Background Check Results. Participating retailers would prohibit sales based on “default proceeds,” which are permitted by law when the background check has not returned a result within 3 days.
And here is the other violation of Federal law. The law specifically allows for a "default proceeds" to permit the sale to complete in the event NICS cannot provide an answer. This was done to ensure that the NICS process or the background check couldn't be abused by the Government by simply taking NICS down.
By doing this, Wal-mart is once again violating the rights of their customers. If Wal-mart waits the 72 hours, doesn't get an answer and releases the gun, they cannot be held liable for later criminal misuse. They followed the law.
Not anymore. Now they are making their own law. I hope they get sued by the first person this happens to. I've never heard of a "defaults proceeds" result occurring to anyone I know. Personally, that is the only one I'm missing from my collection of personal NICS responses. Maybe I should shop at Wal-mart and add the coveted "default proceeds" to my current proceed, delay and deny set. Not likely.
10. Securing Firearms. Participating retailers will maintain firearms kept in customer accessible areas in locked cases or locked to racks.
And this is different than any gun shop how? Doesn't bother me.
Participating retailers will phase in the provisions of Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership over time.
And there is Bloomberg's and Wal-mart's out. With the exception of #2 and #9, the bulk of this is already covered by existing practices and procedures and makes it sound like Bloomberg achieved some groundbreaking result here. He didn't.
But the gun control groups will be crowing about this as a victory by having the nation's biggest retailer brought into line for more "sensible", "common sense" gun control. Which this isn't. But it is one more thing for us to fight and debunk and the people that hear about this won't know the details. Which is exactly the way gun controllers like it.
I hope more people boycott Wal-mart and splash their selling out of their customer's for political gain far and wide. I hope they're proud of themselves.
Sometimes the jackboot does wear a smiley face.
6 comments:
As I read it, #10 means all display guns will be locked at all times. That is unlike almost all shops I've ever been to, and would be a serious hassle for any shop owner, who dare I say it, might expect his customers to want to handle a firearm before making a purchase. Come on... you don't really really think Bloomberg would accept "behind a counter" to be IN-accessible do you?
#6 Not shure how you mean that prohibited persons can not step foot in a gun store. They can't touch weapons or ammunition, but otherwise?
#1 would bug me to no end. Yes, retailers have the right to put in cameras and to even record the goings-on in their stores. Likewise, I have the right to not let my face appear on these tapes. And just how much of these tapes would Wally World keep? I have this baseball cap that has camoflauge type mesh sewn to the bottom edge - it would conceal my face nicely were I to go somewhere and buy guns. But larger stores like Wally's have many cameras throughout - if I only put the mesh down when I approached the sporting goods section, would they then widen their scope and track me down using the footage from other cameras? What about the other people in the sporting goods section, or the rest of the store, for that matter?
Wally's is bordering on totalitarianism here.
Here ya go!
On #2: The way I read this is if Wal-Mart processed a trace that led to me being the buyer then when I came back to buy another gun they might refuse the sale. So, they get their data and construct their database from the traces they process, not from Bloomberg or the ATF.
Yuri, thats good. I sent Wm an email but didn't get a response yet.
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