Can this be True? Pen & Knife Guns Okayed for public! Whaaaaaa??? [View All]

[tibbiit]

This even has my jaded cynical jaw dropping!

http://www.vpc.org/press/0310pengun.htm

Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Allows Sale of Handgun Disguised as a Pen Despite Law Enforcement Warning

Washington, DC?The U.S. Justice Department's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is allowing the sale to the general public of a small-caliber handgun disguised as a pen?despite the clear public safety threat such "pen guns" represent?the Violence Policy Center (VPC) warned today.

The public safety threat posed by the Stinger Pengun is made clear in an October 2002 "Officer Safety Bulletin" regarding the weapon issued by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations based at Andrews Air Force Base. The national alert was apparently distributed to government, military, and local law enforcement agencies. More recently, in August 2003, the Department of Homeland Security warned that terrorists might attempt to use ordinary items to conceal explosives or weapons?which is the exact purpose of the pen gun.

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According to Stinger, both guns have been approved for sale by ATF and under federal law are sold with only the same restrictions that apply to standard handguns. Advertising on Stinger's web site boasts, "The Stinger Pengun is the only legal pengun in the world" and promises that the gun opens up "A whole new world of possibilities." This is in spite of the fact that, according to ATF, under federal law "Gadget-type firearms and `pen' guns which fire fixed ammunition" are classified as an "Any Other Weapon" (AOW) under the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and come under the NFA's strict licensing and registration regimen. To purchase an "Any Other Weapon," the buyer must go through an extended and extremely detailed background check, register the weapon, and receive approval from local law enforcement. ATF distinguishes the Stinger Pengun and Knifegun from other such weapons and treats them as standard handguns simply because in order to be fired, the "grip," or handle, of the gun must be angled to its barrel .

"This is a distinction without a difference," adds Sugarmann. "It is almost unfathomable the depths to which the Ashcroft Justice Department will sink to carry out the bidding of the gun industry and its lobbying allies. Stinger's pen and knife guns can be re-classified tomorrow to protect public safety on the street, in our offices, and in the air. And if the Ashcroft Justice Department truly cares about public safety, it will do so immediately."

I am speechless about this! Write congress!
tib