The long-running and valid criticism of the ATF is that they bend the law with bullshit rulemaking to say things the law never was intended to say. Cases in point: the defunct bumpstock and pistol brace rules.
Under US law, a short-barreled rifle is “a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches in length and
“You have to show the history and tradition for locking a man up for 20 years, and they didn’t even try. You have to address arms before the court. What is before the court right now are not arms. It’s a pile of parts.”
Unless Adamiak’s conviction is overturned, the case gives the ATF an incredible amount of power—at a time when even the President of the United States wonders publicly whether they should continue to exist.
One ATF official told me they were reviewing Adamiak’s case to get a U.S. Attorney to release him from prison. That ATF official is no longer returning calls. I think he was just playing for time and trying to stop us from telling Adamiak’s story.
The ATF’s open letter reaffirms that the Reformation can only be classified as a standard “firearm” under the Gun Control Act and is completely exempt from the National Firearms Act.
Adamiak saw the ATF’s misdeeds firsthand when they offered him a plea deal. If he admitted that he knowingly and willfully possessed 25 machineguns, prosecutors would only recommend a seven-year prison sentence.
ATF isn’t an agency that’s serving the American people. It’s a political weapon used to enforce unconstitutional gun control schemes.
The bottom line is this: ATF’s 2,600 Special Agents deserve to be judged exactly as they judge America’s gun owners: They’re all guilty and they all need to go.
Unfortunately for Adamiak, the ATF knows that the items that became evidence at his trial were not illegal, but since the prosecutors used them successfully, they will likely also be used as evidence during his appeal.
