FIRST THE FACTS

After less than half an hour of arguments from both sides, U.S. Judge Lawrence O. Andersen ruled that Bob Stewart's Maadi-Griffin .50 Caliber Kit is a firearm, stating that "the preponderance of evidence shows that the kit can readily be made to fire a projectile." His ruling was largely based on U.S. vs. Smith, a case in which a non-firing machine gun was restored to a fully operational automatic weapon through welding and machining--in 8 hours.

"The .50 caliber 'Mardi Gras' rifle is a rifle," said Judge Andersen. He ordered Bob Stewart not to sell or possess the 'rifle' he's been manufacturing and selling for several years, stripping the Stewart family of their source of income and putting smiles on the faces of the BATF representatives in the room.

Just before today's arguments, the judge read into court record the indictment of Bob Stewart on one count of "possession of a firearm by a convicted felon" and on 5 counts of "possession of a machine gun." As was previously reported on both SierraTimes.com and WorldNetDaily.com, the Stewarts contend that the "evidence" was planted. The case goes to trial in the 9th circuit court of appeals on September 5, 2000, judge Roslyn O. Silver presiding. The 9th circuit is known to be stridently anti-gun/anti-self-defense. More of their cases are overruled by the Supreme Court than any other circuit.

COMMENTARY

When a federal agency is cutting new swatches of claimed territory, legal or physical, anything now seems to be possible. The BATF didn't take issue with Mr. Stewart for YEARS of the manufacturing and selling of his kits. If they had an issue, and if the BATF were truly a taxing agency of the Department of Treasury, a simple letter or phone call to address the issue would have been their first move to correct their perceived infraction of law.

The BATF conducted this entire operation in order to get the records of the 2,000+ citizens who've purchased the Maadi-Griffin kits. In the eyes of this farce of an agency, each of those citizens is a criminal who purchased a firearm that bears no serial number. Past customers of Bob Stewart are encouraged to take heed of the fact that the BATF has your personal information and is likely taking the postion that you are in possession of a firearm with no serial number. And not just "a" firearm, but THE firearm target of the day. Expect to see the anti-freedom, anti-self-defense crowd to begin bleating for the outlawing of the .50 Caliber Rifle in short order; it's coming. Get one while you can, and get it unregistered if possible.

The BATF also conducted this operation in order to put Bob Stewart and thus Maadi-Griffin out of business permanently. Their intention is to lock him up in a federal prison for a long time, and that is exactly what they intend to do. He already served 16 months the last time the BATF stung him in highly questionable circumstances that never made it to trial--in a 'plea bargain' from the friendly, ever-so-helpful agency who set him up in the first place.

I was told by a very prominent, nationally-known attorney four days ago that I was crazy for defending Bob Stewart because he's a convicted felon. When I explained that his felony conviction was a setup and that he has never done anything violent, in the same breath where this attorney called himself "as pro Second Amendment as anybody," he had the audacity to suggest to me that any felon, under any circumstances, should not be allowed to own a gun, ever, including a rape victim who arms herself to avoid another rape and gets caught for carrying a gun to defend her own life in the pathetically anti-constitution state of Massachusetts. To that attorney I say, "YOU do not even UNDERSTAND the 2nd Amendment OR the right to LIFE itself. Go practice law in Britain."

KeepAndBearArms.com will be broadcasting live on the internet tonight, Thursday, July 13, 7:15pm Pacific Time http://www.KSFO.com You can expect us to cover more details of this court case along with other gun-related news items, and there will be a call-in portion of the radio/internet broadcast. (MORE INFO ABOUT BROADCAST)

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP BOB STEWART

There are several action steps we are asking people to take. Some of them involve money, but some of them simply involve a quick email--a couple of minutes of your time.

1) Join our organization if you have not already done so. We're offering a chance to win a fully operational Stainless Maadi-Griffin Model 89 rifle with each membership, and 20% of the proceeds are going to the Bob Stewart Legal Defense Fund. Authoriz.net, our merchant account provider, was down for most of yesterday and part of today. (165,000 of their customers couldn't conduct online transactions.) The system is back up and working perfectly. You can also join by mail. http://www.KeepAndBearArms.com/members/

2) Contribute directly to the Bob Stewart Legal Defense Fund. http://www.maadigriffin.com/legalfund.htm No amount is too small or too large.

3) Ask SAF and other organizations to support Bob Stewart's defense. If you are a member of either organization, petition them as a member to use membership funds to help this man win his trial:

http://www.saf.org
www@saf.org

Send a simple message with a subject/title of SUPPORT BOB STEWART DEFENSE. This is how simple I mean:

"PLEASE support Bob Stewart's Defense by offering funds or legal assistance. A federal judge just ruled against him, and the case is going to trial in September. The case could have strong Second Amendment implications, and Mr. Stewart needs help. His website is http://www.MaadiGriffin.com, and I know he'd be glad to get some support from you."

4) Spread this message far and wide and ask your gunowner friends to join the cause by doing any or all of the above.

KeepAndBearArms.com will be broadcasting live on the internet tonight, Thursday, July 13, 7:15pm Pacific Time http://www.KSFO.com. You can expect us to cover more details of this court case along with other gun-related news items, and there will be a call-in portion of the radio/internet broadcast. (MORE INFO ABOUT BROADCAST)

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GOD BLESS AMERICA !!