BATFE Uncovers Cunning Plot Of Toy Guns Disquised As Toy Guns
SOTS maintains a strong support of law enforcement officers. They are the thin blue line protecting individuals from anarchy. In order for law enforcement to be effective, they need to maintain certain minimum levels of competence.
This was not the BATFE’s greatest hour:
“One glance at the headlines would have convinced you that a major tragedy was averted by the keen eyes of U.S. Customs inspectors at the Port of Tacoma recently. KOMO blared: “Customs agents nab shipment of machine guns in Tacoma.” Other news outlets pointed out the dastardly nature of the shipment. KIRO in Seattle claimed: “Automatic Rifles Labeled As Toys Seized In Tacoma.” The Seattle Post-Intelligencer went with: “Customs seizes gun shipment labeled ‘toys.’”
Working from a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) press release entitled “Tacoma Seaport U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officers Seize Shipment of Machineguns,” these news organizations had every reason to feel that they were just reporting the news, especially when Customs and Border Protection Area Port Director Rolando Suliveras Jr. claimed:
These rifles could have had far-reaching and potentially devastating ramifications if they had gotten into the hands of individuals who wanted to do harm in the American population. This was a good interception by our officers.
But there was much, much more to the story that Suliveras and the CBP failed to mention, starting with the fact that the 30 “machine guns” seized in the raid really were toys.
To be specific, the items seized were 16 WE TTI (WE Tech) M4A1 and 14 WE TTI (WE Tech) M4 CQBR gas blowback Airsoft rifles that shoot plastic BBs.
For those unfamiliar with these toys, Airsoft offers a less messy and more realistic looking alternative to paintball for both gamers and tactical training. The lightweight BBs can sting and leave welts at close distances on bare skin, but they don’t pose the same threat of shooting your eye out we’ve come to associate with more traditional BB guns and their copper-coated steel payload. Because Airsoft guns can be made to look like existing firearms and can mimic their controls, they are sometimes used for military and police training scenarios where real firearms using live ammunition would be unsafe, and at a per-round cost far cheaper than alternatives.
Of course, Airsoft guns are not real firearms, even the most realistic looking ones.”
We hope BATFE leadership can focus on cases that actually threaten the safety of innocent Americans. We are counting on them.
