Handguns - Latest Reports

Pistols
Revolvers
Specialty

Long Guns - Latest Reports

Rifles
Shotguns
Specialty

Special Purpose Guns - Latest Reports

Home Defense
Surplus/Collectible
Law Enforcement
Concealed Carry
Hunting
Recreational
Competitive

Ammo

Accessories

Gun News

Gun Rights
Industry Notes
New Products
Competitive
People

Special Reports

Replacing Missing Firing Pins

Don’t give up if a replacement firing pin is unavailable from your catalog suppliers. Instead, use these tips to solve the problem.

Gun Tests Index 2011-1999

Here are all the items tested in Gun Tests magazine from 2011 back through 1999.

Commentary

Media Matters Doesn't Really Matter

The group Media Matters for America hates NRA. Few organizations have more strongly proclaimed their disdain for our right to keep and bear arms and self-protection, says the NRA-ILA.

Video: What to Do During a Traffic Stop

Lethal Force Institute’s Massad Ayoob gives a lesson on what to do if you are stopped with firearms in your vehicle. These essential tips will teach you how to safely interact with police when carrying a firearm while driving. (3:47).


Gun Reports - News

Gun Reports Home >> News

Cornyn asks for Texas "Gunwalker" Investigation

October 24, 2011

Printer Friendly | Email |

(GunReports.com) — U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former state Attorney General, sent a letter to Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) on October 24 requesting that they look into allegations of additional Texas-based “gun-walking” programs similar to the “Fast and Furious” operation they are currently investigating. The text of the letter appears below. Senator Cornyn serves on the Finance, Judiciary, Armed Services and Budget Committees.

Dear Chairman Issa and Ranking Member Grassley,

I am writing to commend your oversight efforts and to express my hope that you will use your authority to investigate allegations that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) conducted a “gun-walking” program similar to Operation Fast and Furious in the State of Texas. Clearly, ATF “gun-walking” schemes have had significant spillover effects in Texas—in two separate incidents in January and April of 2010, a total of 60 rifles that were “walked” during Operation Fast and Furious were recovered from the hands of criminals in El Paso.

As you know, the attorney for a federal firearms licensee (FFL) in Houston has alleged that its employees were ordered by the ATF to conduct suspicious sales of firearms to purchasers who may have been working on behalf of Mexican drug cartels. Last December, the Department of Justice convened a grand jury to investigate whether several of the Houston FFL’s salespeople were criminally liable for selling weapons to straw purchasers. This investigation was dropped only after the FFL revealed that the illicit sales were carried out at the behest of the ATF. I fear that ATF may have pressured other FFLs in Texas to conduct illegal activities, and that many of these weapons may have ended up in the hands of cartels and at the scene of multiple violent crimes in Mexico.

I also respectfully request that you investigate whether a Texas-based “gun-walking” program may have been responsible for the murder of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jaime Zapata on February 15, 2011 in Mexico. One of the weapons used to murder agent Zapata was purchased by Texas resident Otilio Osorio in October, 2010 and subsequently trafficked to Mexico through Laredo, Texas. Osorio and two co-conspirators were arrested by the Department of Justice on unrelated weapons charges in March 2011, and evidence uncovered by Senator Grassley suggests that the ATF was aware of Osorio’s weapons trafficking activities long before that date. The delay in his arrest raises concerns that the ATF knowingly allowed Osorio to continue trafficking weapons through Texas as part of a broader “gun-walking” program.

I wrote to Attorney General Holder in August asking him to promptly disclose the details of any past or present Texas-based ATF “gun-walking” programs similar to Operation Fast and Furious. I have not received any response from the Department of Justice. Though their failure to respond is not direct evidence of malfeasance, the Department’s reluctance to address allegations of additional “gun-walking” schemes in my state raises serious questions, and Texans deserve a full accounting of the Department’s role in this matter. I support your efforts to hold the Department of Justice accountable for their involvement in the Operation Fast and Furious tragedy. American tax dollars should never again be spent to arm Mexican drug cartels.

Sincerely,

John Cornyn

United States Senator

digg this reddit submit Newsvine DEL.ICIO.US

Reader Comments

So, it's not just in Arizona that this happened, and Brian Terry isn't the only US Officer killed by those weapons. The hidden problem has just grown in size. I think I see the outline of an iceberg starting to form....

Both of our Texas senators are avid supporters of the Second Amendment, so I am not surprised by John Cornyn's letter. I believe that every little piece of fuel that can be thrown on this fire to keep it hot is well placed. We cannot let this abuse of the law, by the very law enforcement agencies who are supposed to enforce it, go unchallenged.

How many problems do we face simply because we refuse to seriously protect the border? How long before the TSA has porn scanners at the entrance of the K-12 schools? I read stuff from all over and have been surprised at all the news outlets that have been covering this. I think thay would better write about common people who are constantly struggling with their personal financial problems relying sometimes on cash advance lenders. Ones you wouldn’t expect to sometimes. Eventually some young woodward and bernstiens with a lead will come forth. Or some operative who wants to settle a score.


An Important Note for GunReports.Com Readers:

Our goal on this website is to foster a free expression of views while reining in language that crosses the line of civil discourse. Accordingly, the comments areas are intended to expand the knowledge of all users of this site. But site administrators wish to discourage the use of profanity, insults, disrespect, the advocacy of lawlessness, violence or sedition, or attempts to impinge on the rights of others.

While GunReports.Com encourages robust discourse that furthers our understanding of all the issues affecting gun owners, comments that break GunReports.Com’s rules will be removed. In addition, we reserve the right to edit or delete individual comments, and in extreme cases, to ban commenters at our discretion.

--Tim Cole
Publisher, GunReports.Com

To post a comment you must be a registered user of gunreports.com and be logged in. Use one of the forms below to login or register for FREE to gunreports.com

Login to gunreports.com

E-mail Address:
Password:
Forgot your password?

Register and Post Comment
*Fields marked with an asterisk are required.

* First Name:
* Last Name:
* E-mail Address:
* Password:
* Retype Password:
* Blog Username:
* Comments:


E-mail me when new comments are posted in this thread?