OK AG challenges UPS/FedEx gun-purchase surveillance – Newstalk KZRG

OKLAHOMA CITY – Attorney General John O’Connor and 17 different state attorneys common are difficult new insurance policies carried out by main delivery firms to acquire information on gun purchasers with unprecedented specificity. These insurance policies may permit federal companies to bypass warrant necessities to acquire that information.

UPS and FedEx are reportedly now burdening federal firearm license (FFL) holders by requiring them to ship individually and observe firearms, firearms elements, and firearm merchandise. This surveillance would permit gun purchases and purchasers to be tracked and that information for use or shared by the businesses.

General O’Connor and the coalition of attorneys common despatched letters as we speak to each firms requesting extra information on their new insurance policies and asking whether or not the trouble was coordinated with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

“These demands, in tandem, allow [UPS/FedEx] to create a database of American gun purchasers and determine exactly what items they purchased. This could strip Americans of their rights to require federal agencies to follow due process to obtain warrants for that information in certain instances. This allows UPS and FedEx to provide information at will or upon request to federal agencies—information detailing which Americans are buying what guns,” the letters state. “Additionally, we recommend that you consider taking actions to limit potential liability moving forward, including the immediate cessation of any existing warrantless information sharing with federal agencies about gun shipments.”

In addition to requesting up to date FFL-related delivery insurance policies from the 2 firms, Attorney General O’Connor requested them to make clear the next:

• Did UPS/FedEx enact these insurance policies with the objective of information sharing with the ATF or every other federal company;
• Did UPS/FedEx enact these insurance policies on the request of officers in ATF, a special federal company, or by itself initiative;
• If UPS/FedEx carried out these insurance policies on the request of a federal company, please determine that company, the officers who made that request, the character of that communication, and any authorized authorization cited by these officers;
• If UPS/FedEx modified its insurance policies by itself initiative, please clarify why it made these modifications;
• Did UPS/FedEx talk or coordinate with one another in making these modifications; and
• Did ATF or different federal company workers assist draft the up to date delivery agreements?

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen led the trouble. In addition to Knudsen and Attorney General O’Connor, attorneys common from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Hampshire, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming signed one or each letters.

Click here to learn the letters.