Why are these departments leaking information about taxpayers and gun owners? An investigation is required.
Even though President Donald Trump has promised to protect the rights of gun owners, it appears that the Department of Justice’s Civil Division and the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) are doing anything but, according to Gun Owners of America spokesman Stephen Willeford.
A request has been made by the group to look into the two agencies, following some devastating breaches in which the government intentionally filed sensitive tax returns of a GOA member, along with information pertaining to their private firearm collection. This comes from a public court docket revealing as such.
The disclosures included such information as:
- A pair of approved ATF “Forms 1,” legally constituting protected tax returns
- Failure to redact the member’s name, city and state in the form
- Providing declaration that shows the exact number of NFA items owned by the member – it’s like a “map” of their personal firearm collection for all to see
There’s a stature, 26 U.S.C. 6103, that states that NFA registration forms cannot, in any way, publicly disclose such information. But now both the ATF and DOJ are allowing it.
“The sensitivity of this information cannot be understated, nor can the severity of DOJ and ATF’s breach of personal privacy and possible violations of Federal law,” noted Erich Pratt, who serves as Senior Vice President of the Gun Owners of America.
With that, the group is now calling for an investigation, with hopes the following information will be provided:
- Whether these actions constitute a breach of federal statutes, regulations, or policies.
- What warnings, if any, the ATF provided to the DOJ regarding the sensitivity of the data.
- What new procedures will be implemented to prevent the government from “doxing” gun owners in the future.
Stephen Willeford, the “hero with a gun” who serves as spokesman for the GOA, joins us now to discuss this further. We welcome him to the show!
Q&A:
- Why would the ATF and DOJ knowingly reveal such information of the Gun Owners of America member with this filing?
- How is this happening without Donald Trump’s knowledge? Why would the DOJ act against his orders to begin with?
- It seems that the ATF, for the longest time, has been acting as private gun owners. Are they still trying to follow Biden’s previous orders, rather than Trump’s new ones?
- Do you believe the investigation that the group is requesting will happen? Or will legal charges have to be filed?
- Where do you see the discussion surrounding gun rights going as the year continues on?
- You’ve got two events coming up in April. The GEAR event in Amarillo, Texas and the Church Safety Summit/Protecting His House event in Lynchburg, Virginia. Can you tell us more about those?
- You recently wrote a book called A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy, revolving around your 2017 “hero with a gun” situation. Tell us more about how this came together, and why it’s such an important read right now.
- Where can people find your book?
- Where can we learn more about you, as well as Gun Owners of America?
- You can learn more at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com. You can also read more about the Gun Owners of America at https://www.gunowners.org/.
About Stephen Willeford…
Stephen represents Gun Owners of America and is known around the country as the “good guy with the gun” for helping stop the largest Texas mass shooting in the history of the state in 2017. He is available to speak about all gun rights issues, as well as the importance of Gun Owners of America. He is the author of the book A Town Called Sutherland Springs: Faith and Heroism Through Tragedy. You can read more about him at http://www.thebarefootdefender.com.
CONTACT: Todd Baumann at 512-966-0983 or by email Jerry McGlothlin at bookings@specialguests.com.
