VFW weapons inventory request the Obama Admin supposedly sent out?

[OneGrassRoot]

Sorry if this was posted here before and it's simply an ongoing right-wing smear about "they're gonna take your guns." I'm hoping you guys can educate me, so I can educate others.

A few people I considered fairly rational brought this to my attention last night, saying the Obama Admin, just last week, requested from the VFW's that all members provide an inventory of weapons.

I realize the links below are VERY questionable, but I can't find official links to this story thus far.

I'm trying to find this in the various government websites, but I honestly am not sure where I should be looking.

They quote this "official" document, but there's no letterhead or anything in the links I cringed and clicked onto.

Total BS or is there a crumb of truth and they went wild? Any reputable news links would be most appreciated. :)


http://www.infowars.com/government-demands-inventory-of-all-vfw-weapons/

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS265&q=obama+administration+VFW+letter+weapons+inventory&aq=f&oq=&aqi=

[OneGrassRoot]

1. I just found this, but it's still not an official link:

It linked to a site that's down. Oy. I see it's crazies like WorldNetDaily perpetuating this, so I already have a feeling it's complete BS. I'm clueless about the matters being discussed, however. Maybe I should post this in the Guns Forum. Sorry if not GD appropriate.

06/11/2009 - 1:26pm.

Battle of the Bilge went directly to the source on the source of the email, Sgt. Dan West, USMC (Ret.), for comment and reaction. The following is his statement on the issue, which he has graciously allowed us to convey to you in full:

"In response to the article “Government Demands Inventory of All VFW Weapons” by Kurt Nimmo posted on the Alex Jones’ infowars.com website on June 9, 2009. Let me confirm that I did send out the email to VFW District Commanders in Texas so they would pass the request on to the VFW Posts they have oversight of. I have never been contacted by Kurt Nimmo or Alex Jones as to the veracity or authentication of my email. I find this to be extremely irresponsible journalism.

Let me also add that to my knowledge the U.S. Government is not trying to take away any weapons or equipment from any VFW Post nor is this an attempt by the government to register or list which VFW Post has what, they already know, they sent me the list, the weapons and equipment although demilitarized belong to the U.S. Government. Demilitarized is not the same as decommissioned.

Representatives from U.S. Army TACOM contacted me in regards to non-existent VFW Post as Texas VFW has had several dozen VFW Posts close in the last several years that had weapons/equipment ISSUED (Not donated) from U.S. Army TACOM. Before these missing weapons/equipment are reported as stolen, U.S. Army TACOM has asked that we assist in accounting for them as they may have been transferred to another VFW Post without proper documentation. If they have been transferred to another VFW Post that is fine it just needs to be documented per long standing and established TACOM guidelines.

Accounting for weapons/equipment issued from U.S. Army TACOM on a routine basis is nothing new and has been done for several decades. Any one who has served in the military is familiar with accountability for government issued weapons and equipment.

I would mention the Civilian Marksmanship Program is a program where the U.S. Government takes refurbished military rifles (M1 Garand’s & 1903 Springfield Rifles) and encourages civilians to purchase them for a fraction of their cost for the purpose of learning marksmanship. This is a program where the government is actually encouraging its citizens to purchase and posses a military firearm and learn how to use it.

It is unfortunate that some have decided to use this request to account for demilitarized (Not decommissioned) U.S. Government owned weapons/equipment as something it is not in order to press their own agenda without first verifying the information."

There’s not much more to add to Sergeant West’s comments except to thank him extensively for his quick response and detailed information. Once again, we see a normal procedure that has been in place for years misinterpreted as an attempt to get guns out of the hands of veterans. And once again we see that those with an agenda are placing the blame on President Obama.

[old mark]

2. Actually, I heard something about this BEFORE the election -

Obama wanted to organize a list of all guns used in ceremonies by the veterans groups. It semed to be a tactic to get us old dumb vets fuming at the commie gun grabber (and black) democrat candidate so we wouldn't vote for him....I voted for him and I am glad I did, and I am a gun owner.
I posted about this crap several times on some gun web sites, and oddly enough I am no longer welcome there even though I had been a contributing member of several for years.
When I announced I was a Democrat on one site, odd things started happening to my computer....

AFAIK, it's all crap.

mark

[OneGrassRoot]

4. Thank you very much! :) n/t

[IDemo]

3. No mention of this on the VFW news page

http://www.vfw.org/index.cfm?fa=news.levelc&cid=729&cfid=25520928&cftoken=22085031

[OneGrassRoot]

5. I just found this. I don't necessarily recommend clicking...lol

But this right-wing blogger debunks this particular fallacy. He listed the Sargeant's address and phone number who is quoted in the various right-wing articles, and said he contacted him. The rebuttal I put above is from his post. I called the number to make sure it's valid, and it is. :) Answering machine though.

Maybe this will be on Snopes soon? Not that they believe that either......

For me at least, I can put this to rest. Thanks again. :)



http://brainshavings.com/2009/06/the-army-is-not-hassling-the-vfw.html

[liberalmuse]

6. I've not heard of this, nor have I done any research, but...

based from the source (right wing crazies), I can say with absolute confidence that this is a lie. :)

[spanone]

7. sounds like wingnut bullshit to moi