GunLinkBlog
United States Attorney Annonces Charges Against More than Two Dozen Felons in Law Enforcement Surge to Reduce Violent Crime
Several Charged in a Conspiracy with Stealing Nearly One-Hundred Firearms from Licensed Dealers in Kentucky
United States Attorney Russell M. Coleman announced that the Louisville Federal Grand Jury returned 21 felony indictments charging 23 individuals this week with multiple counts, including firearms violations, possession and distribution of scheduled drugs as well as the filing of an additional criminal complaint of two Tennessee residents charged in a conspiracy of stealing nearly one-hundred firearms from dealers licensed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
“These arrests are yet another significant deposit on our promise to reduce violence in this Commonwealth,” stated United States Attorney Coleman. “Working together with our law enforcement partners, we will not concede one block of our city to drug traffickers, gang members, or, as we demonstrated today, felons with firearms. Stay tuned.”
U.S. Attorney Coleman was joined in today’s announcement by the Jefferson County Commonwealth’s Attorney Thomas Wine, ATF Special Agent in Charge Stuart Lowery, and LMPD Chief Steve Conrad, who stood shoulder to shoulder with numerous prosecutors from the United States Attorney’s Office, in a committed effort and shared partnership to reduce violent crime. These charges were developed through an ongoing partnership of multiple law enforcement agencies to maximize penalties for the most violent repeat offenders.
This week, Kashma Floyd Dardy, Jr. of Nashville, Tennessee, and Marvin Dale Johnson, of Madison Tennessee, were charged with conspiring and stealing firearms from licensed dealers located in Bowling Green and Owensboro, Kentucky. Dardy was charged with the burglary of Wheeler’s Fastway Gun and Pawn located at 4848 Scottsville Road in Bowling Green. Johnson was charged with the burglary of Wheeler’s as well as another burglary of Whittaker Guns, LLC, located at 6980 West Louisville Lane in Owensboro. According to the affidavit attached to the criminal complaint, firearms stolen from the dealers were recovered from both defendants. Continue reading
Second Amendment Foundation Reports 1200% Spike in Members, Donors from Young Adults since Parkland Murders
And several GunLink members are proud to count ourselves among newly-upgraded SAF members. With the constant onslaught of attempts to further restrict gun rights, we believe that all firearms owners, patriots, and other supporters of the United States Constitution must band together to fight back to limit and eliminate government infringements of the basic human rights proscribed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Join the Second Amendment Foundation here, join NRA here, and check out other RKBA organizations here. If there ever ever was one, now is the time to present a united front against further infringements.
Since the tragic mass shooting at a Florida high school last month resulted in efforts to restrict firearms ownership by young adults, the Second Amendment Foundation has experienced a 1,200 percent increase in the number of 18- to 20-year-olds joining or supporting the organization, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb reported today.
“We normally don’t get that many members or donors in that age group,” Gottlieb noted, “since the gun rights movement typically trends toward older Americans. But the 18- to 20-year-olds have never been specifically targeted before, and they are obviously alarmed. This influx of young Americans into the gun rights movement is important, not just to respond to the current gun control threat, but as the movement has gotten older, it is encouraging to see so many young adults getting involved in support of Second Amendment rights. Continue reading
NRA Statement on Corporate Partnerships
With corporate partners clamoring to distance themselves from the National Rifle Association following the Parkland murders, the NRA issued the statement below.
As a side note, we are not sure that anyone noticed. I read that something on the order of a half-dozen or fewer people had used the car rental discounts – our team has never used the menial discounts offered by car rental agencies, airlines or other companies and we certainly did not join the largest Second Amendment advocacy group for such discounts. It does, however, provide a good compass for choosing which companies to not do business with.
The more than five million law-abiding members of the National Rifle Association have enjoyed discounts and cost-saving programs from many American corporations that have partnered with the NRA to expand member benefits.
Since the tragedy in Parkland, Florida, a number of companies have decided to sever their relationship with the NRA, in an effort to punish our members who are doctors, farmers, law enforcement officers, fire fighters, nurses, shop owners and school teachers that live in every American community. We are men and women who represent every American ethnic group, every one of the world’s religions and every form of political commitment. Continue reading
Media Sensationalism Partly to Blame for School Shootings, Says SAF
When anti-gunners point fingers of blame for tragic school shootings, there is plenty of room for media sensationalism in that ugly spotlight, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
“The heartbreaking attack on students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida is made even more terrible because the suspect is getting more than his share of fame,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “His face has been all over television and newspaper front pages, and there is a concern that this kind of attention might inspire somebody else to seek this same kind of infamy.”
Gottlieb pointed to a project at Texas State University’s ALERRT (for Advance Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) Center called “Don’t Name Them.” It recognizes the responsibility of the press to identify criminal suspects, using their names and likenesses to help in the apprehension, and to report criminal charges. However, beyond that, the “Don’t Name Them” effort encourages the press to instead focus on the victims. Continue reading
ATF, Rock County Sheriff Host Educational Seminar in Response to FFL Burglary Uptick
Our town has experienced a number of smash-and-grab, vehicle-through-the-front-of-the-store firearm burglaries over the past year or two, so it was interesting to see this being addressed in at least some places.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with the Rock County Sheriff’s Office, hosted an educational seminar for federal firearms licensees on February 15, at the Rock County Courthouse in Janesville, WI. The seminar was set up in response to the rash of gun store burglaries that recently occurred in southwest Wisconsin.
Despite gun shop counter-talk, there are no federal laws requiring FFLs to secure their firearms, ATF’s industry operations investigators recommend a variety of measures to reduce the number of gun store burglaries. Licensees received information on ideal methods for securing their inventories including installation of alarm systems and other physical security measures, as well as best practices in record keeping to ensure a good record of inventory is in place.
“Partnering with firearms dealers is critical in order to prevent thefts and keep our communities safe,” said Director of Industry Operations Hans Hummel, who is responsible for regulatory operations of ATF’s Saint Paul Field Division. “We want licensees to be aware that there are low-cost solutions that can be implemented. Many burglaries can be prevented with just a few safeguards in place.” Continue reading
I.O. Inc. Mini Revolver Makes Progress for 2018
At last year’s SHOT Show 2017, we were excited to see Inter Ordnance venture into different territory than what they are known. In their booth, they had micro revolvers similar to what you have probably seen from the likes of North American Arms.
Until recently, I.O. Inc. was largely known (for better or for worse) for the AK platform rifles which they began producing in the mid-2000s – and which gained a less than stellar reputation for quality and reliability; something with which the GunLink team has had first hand experience as owners of one of their duds. A few years later, I.O. shut down their AK production, moved to a re-tooled production facility, and began cranking out higher quality AKs (and, later, ARs) and started work on rebuilding their sullied name.
So when we saw the diminutive .22LR revolvers, dubbed the Valkyrie, in their booth last year, our interest was piqued, despite the fact that they were, at that point, nothing more than rapid-prototyped titanium samples with 3D printed grips with an MSRP of $260 and an expected ship date of last spring. And then… crickets.
This year in the I.O. Inc. booth, they had what appeared to be (nearly) production models of the minuscule SAO revolver, now apparently named the Escort. Continue reading
