The truth about the Fast and Furious scandal on the Peoria.com Forums

A Fortune investigation reveals that the ATF never intentionally allowed guns to fall into the hands of Mexican drug cartels. How the world came to believe just the opposite is a tale of rivalry, murder, and political bloodlust.

FORTUNE -- In the annals of impossible assignments, Dave Voth's ranked high. In 2009 the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives promoted Voth to lead Phoenix Group VII, one of seven new ATF groups along the Southwest border tasked with stopping guns from being trafficked into Mexico's vicious drug war.

Some call it the "parade of ants"; others the "river of iron." The Mexican government has estimated that 2,000 weapons are smuggled daily from the U.S. into Mexico. The ATF is hobbled in its effort to stop this flow. No federal statute outlaws firearms trafficking, so agents must build cases using a patchwork of often toothless laws. For six years, due to Beltway politics, the bureau has gone without permanent leadership, neutered in its fight for funding and authority.

The National Rifle Association has so successfully opposed a comprehensive electronic database of gun sales that the ATF's congressional appropriation explicitly prohibits establishing one.


features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2012/06/27/fast-and-furious-truth/?hpt=hp_t2

Tank god for the NRA!!!!!

In your opinion, would societies be safer if everyone toted a Winchester?

Go to Norway everyone has to do 2 years in the army they all have UZI's you never hear of gun violence over there. Winchester really? Springfield Armoury is the way to go for rifles. The best thing for home defence is a Remington 870 express. (love mine) Do you have any idea how scarey it was when the state wanted to build a web site saying i have a FOID card it would be worse if there was a web site telling you what i have. I could be a target for theives who wanted some of me weapons. or the little old lady you know how doesn't have a weapon. let everyone think everyone else is armed and watch crime go down. the locks on my doors are not to protect me they are there to protect the guy breaking in.

Eventually, Yes. Initially, probably not. The Transition would be a little rough, but ideally, I'd like to see the US modeled after Switzerland. Where a personal weapon should be kept at home as part of the military obligation. Although, one must note, Switzerland's military agenda is merely defensive, the United State's military agenda is primarily aggressive. So, it is kinda an apples to oranges comparison.

The big problem with our current military is our buddies pick fights with other countries and when they can't handle it they know we will come running to there aid.(france) and if you run a country with oil and had dinner in Crawford Tx once you can do no wrong. (saudia arabia) Its not a political party thing. You would not believe some of the people i have seen our government give weapons to and because of that i want a few weapons around the house. Our government creates alot of the problems that we have in this world. They always look at the right now not the future problems. I want a well funded well trained military. But it must be used the right way. I get sick and tired of boys losing there lives to help people out that hate us. BY the way pock thanks for correcting me about the Swiss /norway thing.

Well Said.

That seems to be more in the spirit of the entire "well-regulated militia" part of the Second Amendment.

Sterling,

Agreed. But you can't take a population that has been made, if you will gun-dumb by regulation, arm them all and expect it to be a smooth transition.

While, I agree having everyone armed as part of a militia is a solid idea.. but making that transition from where we are today, to where we should be would be painful.

I will teach the class no problem.

There used to be an individual mandate in this country requiring all able bodied citizens (white, property owning, male at the time) to own a rifle. These mandated firearms owners would be called up on multiple occasions, as the 'well armed militia', prior to the Civil War.

The law's individual mandate was tested in the Supreme Court and was upheld.

those mandates are still codified in law in several counties in New Mexico, although to my knowledge they are largely unenforced.