Response to Sen. Schumer's letter to the BATFE

This letter was written as a response to a letter from Senator Charles Schumer's office [1] regarding the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE) requiring the reporting of potential drug use of rejected military applicants to the FBI.

My response can be viewed as a formal pdf here and is much cleaner to read.

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M.A. Weimer

(address redacted)

Director Kenneth E. Melson

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives

99 New York Avenue, NE   Mail Stop 5.S-144

Washington, D.C.  20226

18 January 2011

Director Melson:

I write today in response to a letter written to your office by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, dated the 16^th of January, 2011.

I too have serious concerns regarding the tragic shooting that took place in Tucson, Arizona earlier this month in which Representative Gabrielle Giffords was gravely injured and others were either injured or killed.  I believe that while such an event does indeed require mourning and reflection, as well as an internal review of Arizona’s firearms laws where appropriate, this matter is best handled calmly, rationally, and locally.  Senator Schumer’s emotional plea for the imposition of new firearm reporting requirements is not only unnecessary, but without any Constitutional merit whatsoever.  While this tragedy was certainly senseless and savage, I am deeply concerned that the letter written by Senator Schumer is much more strongly indicative of the urgent need for a reexamination of whom we allow to serve in Congress.

My concern is first and foremost for the families of those killed or injured; I believe I join in a chorus of American voices wishing the Congresswoman and the injured a full and rapid recovery.  May the Lord heal her body and spirit and grant her a triumphant return to public office, or wherever she may choose to go.

My second concern lies with Senator Schumer’s ex post facto appeal to the Bureau to require the issuance of reports to the FBI of any applicant denied entrance to the United States Military resulting from the admission of prior use of illegal substances.  Senator Schumer asserts that such an admission, if entered into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICBCS), should prevent the individual from lawfully purchasing a firearm.

I must strongly question Senator Schumer’s logic, as the right to own a firearm is guaranteed to the People by the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution.  This right cannot be denied to any individual without due process, a further protection of liberty which is afforded by the Fifth Amendment.  A simple admission to a military recruiter does not constitute due process, nor does it constitute the commission of a ‘crime,’ as no trial (and therefore no conviction) has occurred, and the individual should reasonably expect to be treated as innocent until proven guilty by a jury of his peers as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment.

As if the Constitutional implications alone are not enough to cast serious doubt on the validity of Senator Schumer’s proposal, it is also not a crime to have been a former user of illegal substances.  A previous admission of drug use does not constitute current criminal behavior suitable to deny the individual the right to purchase a firearm unless a felony conviction has resulted, in which case due process would indeed allow for the suppression of his Second Amendment rights and therefore the lawful denial of his right to purchase a firearm.

In the absence of a felony conviction, the Congress and its agencies do not possess the Constitutional authority to prevent an individual from purchasing a firearm.  The State of Arizona, however, may indeed be able to prohibit the purchase of a firearm under such circumstances and the matter should rightly be decided in the Arizona legislature.

Regardless, the deplorable actions of one individual are not sufficient to curtail to any degree the liberties reserved to and enjoyed by the People of the United States.

 

Yours,

M.A. Weimer

  

cc:  The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.

      Attorney General

      U.S. Department of Justice

      950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

      Washington, D.C.  20530

      The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
      United States Senator for New York
      313 Hart Senate Office Building
      Washington, D.C.  20510