The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives is reportedly conducting illegal raids in Washington state. They're questionable searches. The ATF is one of the many federal agencies not trusted by law-abiding gun owners, and for a good reason—they overreach like crazy.
This story from Klickitat County is unsettling. According to reports, the ATF has been showing up at people's homes demanding they inspect their firearms without a warrant. The county sheriff is now telling citizens what to do should federal agents arrive at their residences: ask them to screw off. Okay, maybe not use that language, but you can demand they leave unless they produce a warrant signed by a judge to permit such a search. Kerry Picket at The Washington Times has more:
A Washington state sheriff recently advised residents in his county that if agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) come to their homes without a search warrant asking to inspect their firearms, they can tell them to leave their property.
Klickitat County Sheriff Bob Songer said in a press statement ...that agents are “making surprise home visits of persons who have purchased two or more firearms at one time. To my knowledge, these ATF visits have not occurred in Washington State yet.”
Sheriff Songer told The Washington Times he became concerned about the Second Amendment rights of the residents of Klickitat County after viewing a doorbell video that showed a firearms owner who ATF agents coerced, without a warrant, to inspect his firearms.
“I’m a constitutional sheriff. I got a lifetime membership with the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association,” he said. “And I believe strongly in the fact that my duty as sheriff is serving the citizens that put me in office to protect their constitutional rights and liberties.”
Sheriff Songer, who is running for reelection to a third term in office, said that if residents are contacted by an ATF agent or any other federal agent lacking a search warrant to inspect firearms they have purchased, residents do not have to cooperate with the authorities and should contact his office if the agents refuse to leave their property.
“The ATF must answer questions on why they decided to conduct an illegal search, especially since the homeowner had done nothing wrong,” Sheriff Songer said in the statement. “These actions by the federal government are unsettling, and they have no business going door-to-door to see who owns firearms. I fear that there will be more illegal inspections to come as the Left continues its assault on our 2nd Amendment rights. Congress should investigate this immediately.”
These are cops, and cops can lie. Know your rights and stand firm. The government will abuse and take as much legal territory as they see fit. They will take advantage of you if you remain ignorant of your rights. Thank God for sheriffs like this who are not allowing federal agents to run roughshod over law-abiding folks.