Liberals Discover New Regard For Machine Guns

Amazing. Between testimony before Congress today and the Leftist blogs, suddenly Victor Rita is the embodiment of Bush injustice. The Left would have you believe Rita and Libby are guilty of the same thing and the Bush commutation re Libby while Rita goes to jail is a gross injustice and representative of Bush's evil crony-ism:

On the same day President Bush commuted Scooter Libby's prison sentence, Vietnam veteran Victor Rita reported for the start of his 33-month term.

The two cases are strikingly similar: both defendants were convicted of perjury and obstruction, both had a history of public service and both were sentenced to similar prison terms. Rita appealed his sentence to the Supreme Court, where he lost. Libby, of course, didn't spend a day behind bars.

Forget that Libby could still win on appeal, what is it Victor Rita actually did? Not much, really, he simply tried to cover up for some foreign nationals allegedly importing machine guns in violation of the law. Thank heavens the Left has reversed itself on gun control. I assume we won't have that issue to kick around anymore.

The basic crime in this case concerns two false statements which Victor Rita, the petitioner, made under oath to a federal grand jury. The jury was investigating a gun company called InterOrdnance. Prosecutors believed that buyers of an InterOrdnance kit, called a “PPSH 41 machinegun ‘parts kit,’ ” could assemble a machinegun from the kit, that those kits consequently amounted to machineguns, and that InterOrdnance had not secured proper registrations for the importation of the guns. App. 7, 16–19, 21–22.

    Rita had bought a PPSH 41 machinegun parts kit. Rita, when contacted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and Explosives (ATF), agreed to let a federal agent inspect the kit. Id., at 119–120; Supp. App. 5–8. But before meeting with the agent, Rita called InterOrdnance and then sent back the kit. He subsequently turned over to ATF a different kit that apparently did not amount to a machinegun. App. 23–24, 120; Supp. App. 2–5, 8–10, 13–14.

    The investigating prosecutor brought Rita before the grand jury, placed him under oath, and asked him about these matters. Rita denied that the Government agent had asked him for the PPSH kit, and also denied that he had spoken soon thereafter about the PPSH kit to someone at InterOrdnance. App. 19, 120–121; Supp. App. 11–12. The Government claimed these statements were false, charged Rita with perjury, making false statements, and obstructing justice, and, after a jury trial, obtained convictions on all counts. App. 7–13, 94, 103.

As for InterOrdnance:

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- United States Attorney Robert J. Conrad, Jr.,
Special Agent in Charge of ATF, Charlotte Field Division, Lester D.
Martz, and Special Agent in Charge of the Charlotte Office of the IRS
Criminal Investigation Division, Michael J. Thomas, announced that
Ulrich H. Wiegand, 34, Oliver M. Wiegand, 37, Interordnance of
America, L.P., and related companies, were indicted on Tuesday,
February 3, 2004, by a federal grand jury sitting in Charlotte on 83
counts alleging conspiracy, illegal importation of machineguns,
illegal possession and transfer of machineguns, structuring, and
money laundering. The charges involve the Wiegand brothers' federally
licensed firearms business, Interordnance of America, L.P., located
in Monroe, North Carolina, as well as foreign companies located in
Witten, Germany and Ferlach, Austria, at one time owned and
controlled by the Wiegand brothers.

According to the indictment, Ulrich and Oliver Wiegand are German
nationals who established Interordnance of America in June 1995 as a
firearms importation business and used the business to illegally
import machineguns into the United States as machinegun component
parts.

Comments

[bill]

The left is beginning to look a lot like a fly trying to fly with only one wing.

[Bill Adkins]

I love guns - may buy a Thompson myself.

[ajacksonian]

There are *lots* of good, lightweight automatic weapons on sale... and some pretty exotic devices, too, which would do very well for the personal defense/critter dissuasion concept. So when does the Left back up its support for this? Because I will be on the market for said critter dissuasion and yet easy to carry around...

[Phoenix]

I read that the dems are trying to pass a law that disallows FedEx, UPS, and other trucking companies to carry ammunition. So. That would make getting ammo for those bad old guns a high-priced affair, if not an illegal affair. What a sneaky way to get gun control.

I have no idea where I read this but will check it out.

[IslamoLlama]

*jams fingers in ears*
Clearly, if Dems are disgusted with the Libby pardon, it must be because Dems approve of perjury! This must be the case! Dems don't want less pardons, they want more!

And since they clearly must want Victor Rita pardoned (because, after all, they wouldn't want to see Rita or Libby in jail), they also clearly support sale of machine guns to terrorists. Ergo, if Democrats disapprove of the Libby Pardon... they're terrorists! Quick! Someone arrest Pelosi and Reid and ship them off to Gitmo!

Still, it's good to see that Bush isn't taking any chances with the rest of his (ex-)staff. You can't commit perjury if the president *ahem* directs *ahem* you not to testify, right? No perjury, no messy trial. No messy trial, no need for pardons. Everyone wins. If only Bush had ordered Victor Rita not to testify...

[seekeronos]

Hey, IslamistLlama... do yerself a favour and put down your meth pipe for a few hours,... m'kay?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I read that the dems are trying to pass a law that disallows FedEx, UPS, and other trucking companies to carry ammunition. So. That would make getting ammo for those bad old guns a high-priced affair, if not an illegal affair. What a sneaky way to get gun control.

I have no idea where I read this but will check it out."

--

I seem to remember reading how some Dems wanted to limit the actual manufacture of ammo to certain rounds, not sure which ones though.

Betcha it probably would be anything above .22 for us sheep, and *maybe* 30.06/.308 for "certified" hunters (i.e. approved liberals like Bill Adkins).

Of course, the ATF would still have full access and grant special licenses for manufactures to make special HQ rounds for law enforcers and the many various secret police forces/gendarmes/thought polices that would surely arise under the nightmare Dem majority regime.

[Bill Adkins]

Now, now, seeker - your penis envy aside, I have quite the collection of antique and modern firearms.

[seekeronos]

Envy? Not of a deranged person like Islamoloser. And, I'm quite content, not having any complaints either myself or from the missus concerning the original intent of your misguided "envy" statement.

As for guns - bully for you. It's rare to see any lefties who treasure our rights to keep and bear arms.

I only hope that you are a halfway decent shot, when Pelosi and Hitlary come to take them away from you - unless of course, you just happen to be one of the white-tie donors to the DNC and have managed to buy your "liberty" to bear arms upon the backs and blood of those who shall be stripped of their rights to the same.

[Phoenix]

Here it is, Seek -

Did you know that the Occupational Health and Safety Administration is about to make the shipping, storing and handling of ALL ammunition and its components illegal? *Yes, it is true. Ammunition and its components will be classified as 'explosives' just like TNT and dynamite. Not only that, possession of a firearm within a great distance from things that might explode will also be illegal. Like gas stations, or automobile gasoline tanks or the propane tank IN YOUR BACKYARD. This move will effectively do what the Left has been unsuccessful in doing for almost a hundred years - universally impose complete gun control in America. Bear in mind that OSHA was the creation of Democrats and it should be no surprise to learn that the vast majority of OSHA's employees are of that same party. But have YOU heard about it? Have you heard any politician mention it, even in passing? No. They are much too busy redirecting your attention to things like Valerie Plame and Scooter Libby and electronic voting machines - they have no shortage of inconsequential topics with which to focus the attentions of a generally stupid electorate.

(Steel) He has the site starred. oops.... I'll have to go back and get it.

[Bill Adkins]

Hmm -- OSHA like ATF is part of the executive branch. I've long said that the Republicans already have your guns, they've just not come to get them yet. They won't like visiting my house - not at all.

[Fred Beloit]

Don't worry about a thing, Willy, this thing won't make it into the real world, not for long anyway. You're Lib-licking Thompson is safe...oops. I mean you're socialist-saving Thompson.