Thread: Rep calls for President to ban “assault weapon” imports due to Yee case

Guns.com
4/05/14
by Chris Eger

Speier’s new call for action has been called, ‘ironic’ by members of the pro-Second Amendment community.

“I don’t see any reason for someone to propose a ban on perfectly legal firearms coming into the country where law-abiding citizens would be able to purchase and own those firearms for hunting, competition or for any number of good reasons,” said Dave Workman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Rep calls for President to ban “assault weapon” imports due to Yee case


Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-CA) wants the
President to ban imports of ‘assault weapons’ due
to the exploits of California State Sen. Leland Yee.
(Photo credit: PBS)

Citing the fact that now-suspended California state Sen. Leland Yee allegedly planned to help bring illegal guns into the country, Rep. Jackie Speier, (D-CA), is calling for the President to ban the import of ‘lethal assault weapons.’

This announcement came Wednesday from the Congresswoman, who represents the same district that Yee hailed from.

“This FBI investigation of Leland Yee reveals how easy it is to import lethal assault weapons that were previously banned,” said Speier in an emailed statement from the Representative’s office to Guns.com.
“This case should be a warning to us all that even the most trusted appearing among us are ready to do real harm,” she said.

Her solution to fix future instances of potential gun running such as in the Yee case? Call on the White House to ban the import of “assault weapons.”

“Since Congress can pass no meaningful gun-control laws, even after the mass killing in Newtown, President Obama should use his pen to slow the import of these weapons, which have no place in our homes,” wrote Speier.

Yee, who up until last month was a member of the Californian State Senate and candidate for Secretary of State, was indicted on March 26 on charges that included numerous counts of public corruption and weapons violations. The latter, according to a 137-page affidavit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, included helping to broker a deal with Islamic rebels in the Philippines for $2 million in military-grade weapons up to and including shoulder-fired missiles. These munitions would be smuggled from the Pacific to a port in New Jersey and were intended for criminal, not civilian use.



State Sen. Leland Yee is chased by reporters as he leaves the federal building in San Francisco Mar. 26. Yee is facing charges including weapons violations and fraud. (Photo credit: Michael Short, The Chronicle)

Speier, like Yee when he was in office, is a staunch advocate of gun control, even asking for a national gun registry.

In June 2013, she introduced the Gun Transparency and Accountability Act, which ends the restriction on use of crime gun trace data in gun dealer prosecutions or license reviews by the ATF. A survivor of the 1978 Jonestown Massacre, Speier is a member of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force as a vice chair.

That committee pushed a number of initiatives including the failed 2013 Assault Weapon Ban on Capitol Hill.
At that time Speier went on the record as saying, “We don’t need assault weapons and we don’t need high-capacity magazines.”

Just a week before Yee’s indictment, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein asked the President for a ban on legal ‘assault weapon’ imports of the same sort that Speier is asking for now.

Speier’s new call for action has been called, ‘ironic’ by members of the pro-Second Amendment community.
“I don’t see any reason for someone to propose a ban on perfectly legal firearms coming into the country where law-abiding citizens would be able to purchase and own those firearms for hunting, competition or for any number of good reasons,” said Dave Workman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

Speier represents California’s 14th Congressional District, which includes San Fransisco.

http://www.guns.com/2014/04/05/rep-c...-due-yee-case/

Officer Tells Texas Man Openly Carrying Rifle He’s ‘Free to Go’ – It’s Hard to Believe What Happened Just Two Minutes Later

A San Antonio man was reportedly arrested while openly carrying his rifle while on a walk near his home on Monday. The incident, which was video recorded by the gun owner, started out as a calm and reasonable conversation but ended dramatically with cops tasing the man before they put him in handcuffs.


shutterstock.com

While it is perfectly legal to openly carry a rifle in Texas, police reportedly arrested Henry Vichique, 19, under a local ordinance that apparently prohibits residents from carrying a loaded rifle or shotgun within city limits.
In a video posted on YouTube Monday, Vichique is seen being approached by officers and immediately ordered to put his rifle on the ground.

“I’m not doing anything wrong, sir,” Vichique replies to the command.

One of the officers then claimed they received complaints that he was “pointing” his rifle at people. Vichique denied pointing his gun at anyone and informed officers that his rifle was loaded.

After several minutes of chatting between Vichique and a reasonable-sounding officer, it seemed as if the situation would be diffused and the gun owner would be sent on his way.

“You are not under arrest. You are free to go,” the cop says in the video. “You’re just going to happen to walk home, and I’m just going to happen to make sure you get home safely — and as soon as you get home safely, you will never see us again.”

Then the situation took an unexpected turn.

A short time later, another officer inserted himself into the situation and took a more aggressive approach. A few minutes before the more assertive officer arrived, another officer can be heard confirming that the “sarg” was on his way.

“We are going to take that gun off your shoulder, do you understand that?” the officer is heard saying. “Do you understand that?”

The other officer then asks Vichique if he is going to “fight” if they grab his gun, to which he replies, “I’m not going to grab it, sir. I have not been arrested and the law says unless I’ve been arrested, you can’t take it from me.”

Though he had already confirmed several times that his rifle was loaded, the officers asked him again.
“It’s chambered,” Vichique replies, claiming again that he’s not breaking any laws.

Then, suddenly, an officer pulls out his taser uses it on Vichique, who mumbles that he is being unlawfully arrested and that he doesn’t consent to any searches or seizures.

Watch the full exchange below:




In a Tuesday press release provided to TheBlaze, Open Carry Texas argued the ordinance under which Vichique was arrested “directly violates state pre-emption laws pertaining to firearms as contained in Local Government Code 229.001(a)(1), which states: “a municipality may not adopt regulations relating to…the transfer, private ownership, keeping, transportation, licensing, or registration of firearms, air guns, ammunition, or firearm.”

San Antonio Ordinance Section 21-16 states: “It shall be unlawful for any person, other than duly authorized peace officers, to carry a loaded rifle or shotgun on any public street within the city or in a motor vehicle while the same is being operated on any public street within the city.”

The pro-gun group also accused the San Antonio Police Department of lacking the “proper training, experience and common sense” on guns and Texas law.

Messages left with the San Antonio Police Department seeking clarification on the local ordinance and whether it is overruled by state law were not immediately returned.

Open Carry Texas said it plans to hold a rally in support of Vichique on April 6 at 1 p.m. outside of the San Antonio Police Department.


http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2014...nt-see-coming/

San Francisco's Democrat state senator indicted by feds for corruption

Jim Kouri
Law Enforcement Examiner
4/5/14

VIDEO AT SOURCE

A federal grand jury on Friday indicted a California state senator for a number of corruption and conspiracy offenses including weapons trafficking, according to the documents released by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California.

California State Senator Leland Yee, a Democrat, was arrested and charged as were 25 other suspects involved in the same case. The U.S. Attorney specifically accused Sen. Yee of trafficking in firearms, although the Democratic Party's rising star advocated tough gun control laws. (See accompanying news video.)

The indictment details a large number of incidents of alleged corruption perpetrated by Sen. Yee and his fellow conspirators.

One of the more serious criminal charges is the allegation that Yee accepted cash from an undercover FBI agent who told the former candidate for San Francisco mayor that he wished to purchase illegal firearms. Yee allegedly worked to help the undercover agent get access to illegal firearms while telling his constituents that he was an advocate for tough gun control laws.

"Sen.Yee's arrest and prosecution is part of a major FBI sting in San Francisco's Bay area," said former law-enforcement officer Thomas Nicosia. "This case will no doubt be used against Californian Democrats with GOP candidates point to the corruption existing within the Democratic Party locally and throughout the nation."
The other defendants in the case include Raymond “Shrimpboy” Chow, the current Dragonhead, or leader, of the San Francisco-based Chee Kung Tong organization (CKT), according to the indictment.

Besides the gun trafficking, Yee is also charged with trading political influence for cash bribes.

The state senator’s new lawyer, former federal prosecutor Jim Lassart, hasn't yet issued a statement about his client's case.

Yee is free on half-million dollar bail as he awaits his federal trial. He and most of the other defendants are scheduled to be arraigned on Tuesday. Ironically, Sen. Yee had been preparing to run for California Secretary of State in the November 2014 election and has already established a Facebook campaign page.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/san-...for-corruption