Owner of broken rifle surrenders for 30-month sentence

[bugaboo]

Wednesday, July 02, 2008
WEAPONS OF CHOICE
WorldNetDaily Exclusive
Owner of broken rifle surrenders for 30-month sentence
'The conviction of David Olofson is a gross miscarriage of justice'
Posted: July 02, 2008
11:30 pm Eastern

WorldNetDaily

A Wisconsin man today surrendered to federal authorities to begin serving a 30-month prison term for having a broken rifle, prompting the Gun Owners of America to issue a warning about the owner's liability should any semi-automatic weapon ever misfire.

"A gun that malfunctions is not a machine gun," Larry Pratt, executive director of GOA, said. "What the [federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives] has done in the [David] Olofson case has set a precedent that could make any of the millions of Americans that own semi-automatic firearms suddenly the owner [of] an unregistered machine gun at the moment the gun malfunctions."

Officials with Gun Owners of America told WND they met with Olofson today before he surrendered to federal authorities for his prison term. U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert had imposed the sentence after the gun in question let loose three shots at a firing range.

"It didn't matter the rifle in question had not been intentionally modified for select fire, or that it did not have an M16 bolt carrier … that it did not show any signs of machining or drilling, or that that model had even been recalled a few years back," said a commentary in Guns Magazine on the case against Olofson, of Berlin, Wis.

(Story continues below)


"It didn't matter the government had repeatedly failed to replicate automatic fire until they replaced the ammunition with a softer primer type. It didn't even matter that the prosecution admitted it was not important to prove the gun would do it again if the test were conducted today," the magazine said. "What mattered was the government's position that none of the above was relevant because '[T]here's no indication it makes any difference under the statute. If you pull the trigger once and it fires more than one round, no matter what the cause it's a machine gun.'

"No matter what the cause."

"David Olofson is a victim of BATFE abuse," Pratt said. "He has been railroaded by an agency that is out-of-control."

An appeal is being assembled by a legal team at the William J. Olson, P.C., law firm, supplemented by attorney Bob Sanders, whose career stretches from being assistant director of criminal investigations at BATFE to many years in private trial law, officials said.

Constitutional expert Herb Titus also is counsel to the Olson law firm.

WND reported earlier when Olofson, a drill instructor in the National Guard, was convicted in a federal court for illegally transferring a machine gun.

The verdict came in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.

An expert witness said then the decision was filled with problems.

"If your semiautomatic rifle breaks or malfunctions you are now subject to prosecution. That is now a sad FACT," wrote Len Savage, a weaponry expert who runs Historic Arms LLC.

"To those in the sporting culture who have derided 'black guns' and so-called 'assault weapons'; Your double barreled shotgun is now next up to be seized and you could possibly be prosecuted if the ATF can get it to 'fire more than once,'" he wrote in a blog run by Red's Trading Post.

"Hey, but don't worry," Savage said. "The people testing it have no procedures in writing and the testing will be in secret."

He said during an interview with Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership that Olofson had been instructing a man in the use of guns, and the student asked to borrow a rifle for some shooting practice.

"Mr. Olofson was nice enough to accommodate him," Savage said. So the student, Robert Kiernicki, went to a range and fired about 120 rounds. "He went to put in another magazine and the rifle shot three times, then jammed."

He said the rifle, which was subject to a manufacturer's recall because of mechanical problems at one point, malfunctioned because of the way it was made.

Savage said once the government confiscated the gun, things got worse.

"They examined and test fired the rifle; then declared it to be 'just a rifle,'" Savage said. "You would think it would all be resolved at this point, this was merely the beginning."

He said the Special Agent in Charge, Jody Keeku, asked for a re-test and specified that the tests use "soft primered commercial ammunition."

"FTB has no standardized testing procedures, in fact it has no written procedures at all for testing firearms," Savage said. "They had no standard to stick to, and gleefully tried again. The results this time...'a machinegun.' ATF with a self-admitted 50 percent error rate pursued an indictment and Mr. Olofson was charged with 'Unlawful transfer of a machinegun.'. Not possession, not even Robert Kiernicki was charged with possession (who actually possessed the rifle), though the ATF paid Mr. Kiernicki 'an undisclosed amount of money' to testify against Mr. Olofson at trial," Savage said.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.p...w&pageId=68590

SAD DAY FOR ALL GUN OWNERS

[Playboypenguin]

Oh gawd...another WND repost....:barf: :barf: :barf:

[JohnKSa]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...10#post4664310

Read post 5 of the thread...

[nate45]

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthrea...10#post4664310

Read post 5 of the thread...

It couldn't be more cut and dried than that. I'd like to know who is behind all the promulgating of this 'broken gun' nonsense.

[Al Norris]

I coould be wrong, but I seem to remember that it was first the GOA, then WND took up the trumpet...

Regardless, moving to L&P.

[hammer4nc]

Who's the injured party in this case, which would justify Olofson's sentence? Has justice been served? Some seem to think it is.

Post 5 in the THR thread merely points to item numbers in some unspecified documents? Without links, nothing more than a drive-by post. Perhaps posting the pertinent documents would advance the discussion. As it is, far from "cut and dried".

[TimRB]

"Who's the injured party in this case, which would justify Olofson's sentence? Has justice been served? Some seem to think it is."

Justice? Perhaps not. But Olofson clearly did violate the law, and this case shows conclusively that BATF doesn't have much of a sense of humor about such things. Take it as a wake-up call.

Tim

[Stagger Lee]

GOA has a long, long history of lying and otherwise stretching and misrepresenting the truth, which is why I won't support them or even recognize their claim to being a pro-gun group. It's really just a "Pro-Pratt Family" cash cow that rooks well-meaning but gullible gun owners into sending them money by repeatedly and falsely claiming that the mean old government is about to swoop down and take all of our guns.

[Musketeer]

for those not inclined to follow the link:

Pay particular attention to Item 7 and Item 10 and Item 12 and Item 13 and Item 17 and Item 20 and Item 23.

This does not appear in any sense to be a case of an individual railroaded for a broken weapon. GOA hysteria.

[nate45]

Post 5 in the THR thread merely points to item numbers in some unspecified documents?

Those documents in Post 5 were all part of this, and are the attached affidavit.



Now either point 17 of the sworn affidavit is false and fictitious or Olofson was in possession of a machine-gun.

[SkySlash]

I read all 88 pages at ar15.com on this topic wherein Mr. Olofson himself tells his side of the story over a two year period.

I don't think this case is really settled yet. There are a lot of questions that will be brought up in appeal, some of which suggest there may be a lot more to the story than meets the eye on both sides.

I suspect the truth is somewhere between what the government has charged and what Mr. Olofson has claimed. Mr. Kiernicki's past is certainly a question that needs to be answered, and the suggestion that a malfunction creates an illegal machine gun certainly needs to be struck down.

I don't know whether Mr. Olofson manufactured and transferred an illegal machine gun or not, but I most definitely think this story is far from over.

-SS

[Playboypenguin]

I read all 88 pages at ar15.com on this topic wherein Mr. Olofson himself tells his side of the story over a two year period.

I think the story is indeed over. He has surrendered to serve his sentence. He illegally modified his rifle. No if-and's-or-but's about it. Then he made up an absurd and complicated story to cover up his actions.

He broke the law, then he was dumb enough to get caught, then he tried to play the martyr card so all the gun lovers would come to his aid.

As for him telling the story himself...if we only arrested criminals that told the truth about what they did then the prisons would be empty.

[STAGE 2]

Who's the injured party in this case, which would justify Olofson's sentence?

There are plenty of crimes that have no injured parties. They are crimes nonetheless.

Has justice been served? Some seem to think it is.

And I'm one of those people. We have a guy who messed around with his rifle and who has a record of ignoring firearms laws, among other things. I'm sorry but the law is the law, and if I have to follow it, then everybody else does until it gets repealed. If they don't then you won't have any sympathy from me.

If you can't do the time....

[TimRB]

"He broke the law, then he was dumb enough to get caught..."

Exactly--He not only modified the rifle, he *loaned*it to some moron who fired it in burst mode at a public shooting range. I suppose he could have made it worse if he installed a neon sign over his head that said "arrest me".

Tim

[maestro pistolero]

Honestly, that's a relief.

If it were as it first appeared, that the unmodified weapon malfunctioned resulting in these charges, we would all be in deep doo-doo.

It sounds like a slam-dunk case. The ATF had no choice, IF all the information in the charges is true

[Kreyzhorse]

Honestly, that's a relief.

If it were as it first appeared, that the unmodified weapon malfunctioned resulting in these charges, we would all be in deep doo-doo.

It sounds like a slam-dunk case. The ATF had no choice, IF all the information in the charges is true

Finally this story makes sense. I have zero issue with this chump going to jail.

[Playboypenguin]

Finally this story makes sense. I have zero issue with this chump going to jail.

I agree. Does anyone know if Lou Dobbs has done a follow up story? Maybe even an apology for his absurdly one sided portrayal of this guy as an upstanding citizen and soldier who has never been in any kind of trouble and who did nothing wrong except have a rifle "malfunction" and then get persecuted by "the man."

[Socrates]

I'm with Scalia on this one. I wonder to what extent the Federal Government should be regulating a now firmly established right? This law should at least be judged by strict scrutiny, and, considering the mention of Militia, and the fact that the gun is VERY close to what is currently issued to our army, I think this might make a pretty good law to challenge.

I don't even get why the law was passed. Machine guns are a rich persons' toy, just by the rate they eat up ammunition, and, most of the laws passed have been by rich people trying to keep guns out of the hands of people that might overthrow their government positions...

I also don't trust the BATF, and, think their budget should be severely cut. They didn't do a very good job of regulating Alcohol, why should they be any good with guns?

[publius42]

I have zero issue with this chump going to jail.

I only have two:

1. Modifying your own gun doesn't seem to me to be interstate commerce.

2. The appeals court ruling just affirmed in Heller says:

Once it is determined—as we have done—that handguns are “Arms” referred to in the Second Amendment, it is not open to the District to ban them.

The ban this guy violated is unconstitutional.

[Musketeer]

2. The appeals court ruling just affirmed in Heller says:

Quote:
Once it is determined—as we have done—that handguns are “Arms” referred to in the Second Amendment, it is not open to the District to ban them.
The ban this guy violated is unconstitutional.

Read further and see what Scalia said about regulating arms like M16s which were not in common usage by the populace.

[Playboypenguin]

Read further and see what Scalia said about regulating arms like M16s which were not in common usage by the populace.

Yes, I think a lot of people are guilty of selective reading regarding the Heller decision. It is not nearly as broad or as generous as some people would like to believe.

[mvpel]

Read further and see what Scalia said about regulating arms like M16s which were not in common usage by the populace.

Hundreds of thousands of such guns are in common usage by lawful civilian owners across the country, who underwent the ATF's ridiculous rigmarole and paid a $200 tax. The only reason there aren't more is BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S BAN.

The M-16 is the standard-issue infantry rifle of the US military. Bans on such firearms fail the "Miller Test" with respect to their relationship to the preservation or efficiency of the militia.

[Bond007]

This was exactly the information I had been waiting for.

I always suspected that there was much more to the story than was being reported as a mere "malfunction." The day the ruling came down I recall the judge specifically stating that this was not an attack on malfunctions but there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Olofson intentionally modified the rifle to become a machine gun and knowingly transferred the gun.

In addition to what appear to be knowingly illegal modifications, selling them under a "borrowed" FFL seems to warrant a stiffer jail sentence than 30 months.

[Bond007]

Yes, I think a lot of people are guilty of selective reading regarding the Heller decision. It is not nearly as broad or as generous as some people would like to believe.

Agreed. If an until Heller is found applicable to state regulation, it's not going to result in any radical changes - and may end up doing more harm in giving a clear green light to states like California if they find out they are not actually limited by the Second Amendment.

[Musketeer]

Hundreds of thousands of such guns are in common usage by lawful civilian owners across the country, who underwent the ATF's ridiculous rigmarole and paid a $200 tax. The only reason there aren't more is BECAUSE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S BAN.

The M-16 is the standard-issue infantry rifle of the US military. Bans on such firearms fail the "Miller Test" with respect to their relationship to the preservation or efficiency of the militia.

There are hundreds of thousands of M-16s in common usage by civilians in the USA? M-16s, fully auto. You are talking 200,000 plus of them...

Sorry but I don't think so. The M-16 is fully auto. Scalia mentioned suitable for militia use AND in common usage by the citizenry. M-16s do not meet the "and" requirement.

Of course the guy this whole thread is about can challenge the conviction to the SCOTUS on 2A grounds but he will loose. The SCOTUS, even Scalia, is not going to declare the regulation of the 2A with regards to fully automatic weapons as anythign but acceptable. How it is regulated is another thing.