ATF HOSTS 1ST GAY PRIDE OBSERVANCE
Congressman Barney Frank to Deliver Remarks

WASHINGTON – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today sponsored its first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month program at its headquarters, with Acting Director Kenneth Melson providing remarks and Rep. Barney Frank serving as the keynote speaker.

The celebration was in recognition of the accomplishments and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans to ATF and the nation, and to promote awareness of the LGBT culture.

Congressman Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is heading to Mexico Friday as new reports of Operation Fast and Furious-linked guns being involved in a high-profile murder have surfaced.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/issa-heading-to-mexico-as-...

Article by Dave Workman

Jim Norrell nailed it in his "Project GunRunner" article (July 2011 American Rifleman). The very idea that the Mexican drug cartels are dependent upon mom-and-pop corner gun shops in the US for their firearms is so far-fetched as to be ludicrous. I watched Greta van Susteren and the regional BATF supervisor discussing, in the Arizona desert, how "90% of the drug cartels guns came from US suppliers," as they stood beside a table of firearms. I nearly fell out, as prominently displayed on the table were a 1919 Browning machine gun, a Barrett .50 BMG, and a stack of AK-47s.

Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has shone a spotlight on the criminal behavior of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, commonly referred to as the ATF. At a hearing last week, Issa took on Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich by asking him: “Who authorized this program that was so felony stupid it got people killed.”

Washington Post raises questions about Fast & Furious credibility

This morning’s Washington Post carries a story that raises serious questions about credibility in the on-going controversy over the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ Phoenix-based Operation Fast and Furious.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/washington-post-raises-que...

Article by Dave Workman

‘Melson should go’ says Issa as pressure builds

Kenneth Melson, acting director of the embattled Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives should step down.

http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-seattle/melson-should-go-says-issa...

Article by Dave Workman

The following e-mail was forwarded to our attention here at SOF. - Ed.

FY-11-15 For Immediate Release

Contact: Public Affairs Division
June 20, 2011
(202)648-8500 www.atf.gov

ATF HOSTS 1st GAY PRIDE OBSERVANCE

Congressman Barney Frank to Deliver Remarks

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Barney Frank and Acting Director Kenneth Melson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will host the 1st Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month program at the ATF headquarters, Wednesday, June 22, at 9 a.m.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) -- the trade association for America's firearms industry -- is urging extreme caution should retailers decide to participate in a firearms licensee survey being distributed by anti-gun researcher and activist Garen Wintemute and his colleagues at the University of California at Davis. A letter accompanying the survey, signed by Dr. Wintemute, claims the aim of their research is to better understand "the unique perspective of firearms licensees on important social issues and the firearms business itself."

As we reported to you on Friday, House Republicans got a royal “drop dead" from Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich when he testified before Rep. Darrell Issa’s committee last week.

Weich had earlier written Congress to deny wrongdoing by ATF in connection with allegations that it was intentionally allowing firearms to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. This Justice Department denial by Weich turned out to be false.