BATFE letters

[Recumbent ReCycler]

I just wanted to share with y'all some letters that have been written by the BATFE.  If you have any, feel free to add to the list.
This interview is with Len Savage about some of the letters: www.jpfo.org/TTA20060508.mp3

[Recumbent ReCycler]

[KBCraig]

The shoestring case was particularly crazy (I've read it before, since I have a C&R FFL).

It's not even logically consistent. The definition of a machinegun is that it fires two or more rounds with each function of the trigger. In the shoestring case, it fires once with each activation of the trigger -- unless they claim that the string becomes the trigger!

A manually cranked Gatling gun is not a machinegun by the law, because you have to keep moving the crank to fire it. Ditto for the crank-style trigger activators that clamp on the trigger guard.

[Republidog]

They were essentially claiming that the shoestring WAS a machine gun.  ??? ???

[Recumbent ReCycler]

They were essentially claiming that the shoestring WAS a machine gun.  ??? ???

Your statement was correct, but I think it's more accurate this way.    If you haven't already done so, I would recommend joining the JPFO.  http://www.jpfo.org
They don't compromise on gun rights like the NRA does.

[aries]

We really need the NFA, GCA68 and Brady Bills repealed. Any federal gun law.

Then we don't have to worry about what qualifies as a machine gun and what doesn't.

[Recumbent ReCycler]

We really need the NFA, GCA68 and Brady Bills repealed. Any federal gun law.

Then we don't have to worry about what qualifies as a machine gun and what doesn't.

I agree 100%.  I just wish our elected politicians agreed with us.

[president]

If you haven't already done so, I would recommend joining the JPFO.  http://www.jpfo.org

Fuck that and JPFO.

http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Lethal-Laws_Statement.htm

31 January 2002
To Whom It May Concern:

The following statement will disprove allegations of wrong-doing on the part of Jay Simkin and Alan Rice, arising from their involvement with Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership, Inc. (JPFO, Inc.), which allegations have recently been brought to our attention:

Alan Rice and Jay Simkin were founder directors of JPFO, Inc., Simkin joined JPFO in the Spring of 1990, when the group had perhaps 500 members. Rice joined in the Fall of 1990. As Research Director, Simkin wrote most of the ads that JPFO, Inc., used to recruit new members. Most of these ads appeared in Shotgun News.

Simkin convinced Zelman that fact-based research work would win new members, and that JPFO, Inc., should focus on educating the public about the damage done by "gun control". Thus, Simkin researched and wrote "Gun Control": Gateway to Tyranny, which showed the parallels between the Nazi Weapons Law (18 March 1938) and US Gun Control Act of 1968. Simkin found the text of the Nazi law and translated it. It is a fact that Zelman cannot read German, certainly not the pre-World War II Gothic alphabet (the one that looks like Old English). Zelman's name appears on the cover of "Gateway" because he oversaw the printing of the book and its distribution. Simkin never expected to be paid for this work. At most he was re-paid his out-of-pocket costs, such as making photocopies. He did this work- which took hundreds of hours - while holding down a full-time job. He did this work to enable JPFO, Inc., to use income to do things that actually helped  to destroy "gun control".

The success of "Gateway" led Zelman to ask Simkin - along with Rice - to research and write LETHAL LAWS. During the many months it took, Simkin did not get a penny from JPFO, Inc., even though he covered his research costs - travel (many trips to law libraries to find foreign "gun control" laws), photocopying, postage - out of his own pocket.  Rice asked for and got periodic reimbursements of research outlays. Thus, neither Simkin nor Rice was a "staffer". Simkin and Rice were volunteers, not employees. Aaron Zelman was JPFO's only salaried employee. After LETHAL LAWS was published, Simkin was reimbursed by JPFO, Inc., for his outlays on documented out-of-pocket research expenses. We believe it is the case that others who worked for JPFO, Inc. - e.g., Bruce Chesley - were not fully reimbursed once Zelman decided he had no further use for them.   (Click here to read Bruce's story in his own words.)

At Zelman's insistence, LETHAL LAWS was copyrighted under its three authors' names, not in the name of JPFO, Inc. Zelman's name appears on the cover of LETHAL LAWS because he oversaw the printing and sales of the book. The book was popular: some 5,000 copies were sold.

By end-1996, it was clear that LETHAL LAWS had to be re-written, because of Rwanda's 1994 genocide. That event took place just when LETHAL LAWS was first published, in 1994. Simkin undertook to update the book. Simkin researched and wrote a chapter dealing with Rwanda's genocide. Simkin found Rwanda's "gun control" laws, and translated them (from French into English). It took Simkin more time to research and to write this chapter than he expected, because little had then been published about Rwanda. It should be pointed out that Simkin's full-time job is very demanding (50+ hours/week and much overseas travel). He has a long commute to get to work (he refuses to live in anti-gun Massachusetts, and so has a 100-mile round-trip daily commute from southern New Hampshire). Thus, from 1990 until end-1997, Simkin devoted almost all of his free time to JPFO, Inc.

Alan Rice, too, labored long and hard as JPFO, Inc.'s, Field Representative in the northeast and as a Director. He carried JPFO's message to many groups in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. By end-1996, Rice had become concerned because Zelman allowed JPFO Board Members no say in JPFO's financial affairs. Rice is knowledgeable about corporate tax matters. Zelman took umbrage at Rice's suggestion that some supervision was needed to avoid potential tax problems with the Internal Revenue Service. Rice was concerned that, as a JPFO Director, he might be held personally responsible by the IRS for JPFO's actions, over which he had no control. When Zelman refused to return Rice's telephone calls, at end-1996 Rice resigned from JPFO's board. Even so, Rice agreed to help Simkin with the re-writing of LETHAL LAWS because he felt that it would help to destroy the notion that "gun control" is good public policy.

Frustrated by the time it took to prepare the second edition of LETHAL LAWS - for which Simkin apologized repeatedly - at end-1997 Zelman told Simkin the first edition would be printed, with Simkin's chapter on Rwanda being published as a stand-alone supplement. Simkin said this would make the book less saleable. He explained to Zelman that when books need to be updated, the text is updated, the type is reset, and the book is printed. Zelman claimed that sales were falling, so it did not make sense to invest in a full-scale reprinting.

Zelman stopped returning Simkin's phone calls. Zelman decided to treat LETHAL LAWS as if it were his own personal property. Federal copyright law says that while any co-author of a book can re-print it, that co-author needs to share the proceeds with the other authors. Because Zelman wanted to oust Simkin from JPFO, Inc., and because Zelman placed little value on LETHAL LAWS, Simkin did not want to leave LETHAL LAWS in Zelman's hands.

Simkin and Rice felt that by seeking their share of the proceeds from sales of LETHAL LAWS after end-1997, they could move Zelman to agree to give up his (Zelman's) share of the copyright. Ownership of LETHAL LAWS - their own work - was all Simkin and Rice wanted from Zelman, in exchange for years of efforts to build JPFO, Inc. Neither Simkin nor Rice wanted to "take over" JPFO. Inc. Zelman steadfastly rejected this reasonable request and refused to obey Federal copyright law. Simkin and Rice were unwilling to be abused by Zelman.

Simkin and Rice - co-authors - ultimately had to sue Zelman to force him to obey the law. After long litigation (1998-2000), by May 2000 a settlement was reached whereby Zelman turned over to Simkin and Rice the copyright to LETHAL LAWS - and all remaining copies - and Simkin turned over to Zelman his half-share in "Gun Control": Gateway to Tyranny. Zelman also paid Simkin and Rice $7,500 in royalties on post-1997 sales of LETHAL LAWS (this money covered a small fraction of the lawsuit's costs). This agreement, dated 8 May 2000, is on the public record and may be read by anyone, who wishes to see it. It is on file in Federal Court in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Docket 99-CV-00242).

Zelman thus discarded - on the flimsiest of excuses - two key helpers, who between them had donated thousands of hours of time and many dollars to help take JPFO, Inc., from a tiny group into one that by end-1997 had some 5,000 members.

Zelman forced his earliest and strongest supporters to spend tens of thousands of dollars on lawyers, which outlays could have been avoided entirely. In his zeal to brutalize those who had been kind to him for many years, Zelman spent many thousands of his contributors' dollars not to fight "gun control", but to try to keep control of a book - LETHAL LAWS - that he claimed had so little value that it was not worth republishing properly. If LETHAL LAWS were worth so little, why did Zelman spend so much to keep it? And, even if Zelman knew it had more value than he was willing to admit, why should Zelman have been so nasty to those, who had done so much to help him destroy "gun control"?

We doubt that JPFO, Inc.'s Board will ask these questions, let alone get answers, let alone share these answers with JPFO, Inc.'s supporters. In the nearly two years since we signed the settlement agreement, we have kept silent. However, we cannot remain silent when we are wrongfully accused of being "thieves". If there has been any thievery, those who accuse us should look elsewhere. Our experience with Zelman should serve as a warning.

We think that "fighting 'gun control'" is a business for almost all of those who earn their living from it. We have further concluded that most of those who oppose"gun control" do not actually want to see it destroyed, because they would then have to get real jobs, producing real goods or real services.  Giving time or money to help any "pro-gun" group with full-time, salaried officers, is simply building someone else's retirement nest-egg. It doesn't make any difference whether the group is "effective" or not. "Pro-gun" groups with employees simply provide a nice standard of living to those employees. JPFO, Inc., is simply an unusually clear example of this. It is by no means alone. The "pro-gun" groups worth supporting are those staffed by volunteers, who are simply reimbursed for their expenses, or by part-timers, i.e, by those who have jobs - or own businesses - from which they get the bulk of their income.

To read more about LETHAL LAWS: "Gun control" is the key to genocide, please visit:
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Lethal_Laws_book.htm

Jay E. Simkin 

Alan M. Rice

31 January 2002

23 August 2002 - UPDATE - 23 August 2002


Another of Aaron Zelman's victims has just come to our attention.  Rabbi Reuven Mermelstein, author of "Ask the Rabbi", has been kicked-out of JPFO, and has had his copyrighted works unlawfully kept by Aaron Zelman.  To read Rabbi Mermelstein's own account of Zelman's treachery, go to:
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Rabbi_Mermelstein.htm
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Mermelstein-01.htm
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Mermelstein-02.htm
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Rabbi_Mermelstein-01.htm
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/JPFO_Webmaster.htm
http://www.gunownersalliance.com/Mermelstein-Good_Ending-01.htm

[aries]

I didn't know that, dead prez... I thought the JPFO was for Jews anyway! I am considering joining GONH or the NHFC

[Tunga]

http://keepandbeararms.com/