What should you expect for violations of the mighty bureaucratic pen in the America of 2008? Something like this story of a dedicated and productive citizen who was eaten by the behemoth monster every gun owner should be wary of.
Guardsman guilt of illegally transferring ‘machine gun’ after firearm malfunctions
A drill instructor in the National Guard has been convicted in a Wisconsin federal court of illegally transferring a machine gun after a rifle he loaned to a student malfunctioned, setting off three shots before jamming.
The verdict of guilty on one count in the case against David Olofson was confirmed yesterday by the clerk’s office in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.
That means now that anyone whose weapon malfunctions is subject to charges of having or handling a banned gun, according to an expert witness who reports that the particular problem is a well-known malfunction and was even the subject of a recall from the manufacturer.
“If your semiautomatic rifle breaks or malfunctions you are now subject to prosecution. That is now a sad FACT. I guess we know now what Sen. Kennedy meant when he said he looked forward to working with [Acting Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Director] Mike Sullivan on Gun control issues, after his committee approved him for full Senate vote,” Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC, said in a blog.
The case of United States vs. David R. Olofson is a case about what happens when pieces of paper and a bureaucrat’s pen become more important than what is in a man’s heart. David R. Olofson is a National Guardsman and by all accounts a decent and law abiding type who contributes much more to society than he takes back from it. Unfortunately, none of that matters to the sweaty, small minded men in cheap suits who run this country.
Olofson, you see, had loaned one of his rifles, and it malfunctioned at a range, firing off short bursts before jamming. This was called to the attention of local authorities who seized the rifle, an Olympic Arms AR-15. They in turn called BATFE, who decided to make a federal case out of it, charging Olofson with illegally transferring a machinegun.
Enter Len Savage (See “Failing the Test,” July 2005), President of Historic Arms, LLC, brought in by Olofson’s defense to testify the automatic fire was not by design or intent, but rather by mechanical failure, and that the firearm in question was simply a semiautomatic rifle that needed to be repaired.
Now this good man is a convicted felon. Not because he was planning a crime. Not because he hurt someone. Not because he showed bad judgement. No, David R. Olofson is a felon because a group of idiotic bureaucrats decided the rules are more important than common sense.
This is a clarion call to every citizen about the political climate created by a bloated federal government. Doesn’t matter which rule you violate. Doesn’t matter if you even knew the rule existed. You will be smashed. Your life will be ruined. Don’t believe me?
Read on. If the government notices you, no matter how well intentioned you may be, and it doesn’t like what it sees, it may well decide to smash you too. You may not be allowed to defend yourself in a manner most people would deem to be reasonable. You may not even be allowed to attend testimony against you! That’s pretty damn close to fascism if you ask me.
If anyone knows a way for me to contribute to Mr. Olofoson’s legal defense fund (assuming he has one) please contact me. I will not sit idly by while an individual of good character is destroyed by our bloated system of sycophants and rule weasels.