back at it again

It would appear kwikrnu/Leonard Embody has been banned from The High Road after inadvertantly exposing what I believe to be his personal agenda while asking for advice regarding his potential next round of frivolous wastes of everyone’s time.

For my non-Tennessee readers, you might want to refresh yourself on kwikrnu/Leonard Embody and his previous exploits, but suffice to say that this particular story is simply a rehash of previous events… just with a slightly different script.

Kwikrnu is apparently attempting to purchase a suppressor (coincidentally of the same caliber as his Draco pistol), and Sherriff Jeff Long of Williamson County one-lined out the, “I have no information indicating that the transferee will use the firearm or device described on this application for other than lawful purposes,” part of the necessary form. In an included letter, Sherriff Long explained to the BATFE:

However, I wish to make it clear that I have signed such certification only because, based upon advice of legal counsel, I understand Tennessee Code Annnotated Section 39-17-1361 to require me to execute the document unless the purchaser is prohibited from possessing firearms pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 39-17-1316. While I am not aware of any disqualifying factor under Section 39-17-1316 that currently applies to Mr. Embody, I cannot in good conscience certify that I have no information indicating that this particular transferee will use the device for other than lawful purposes. Accordingly, I have altered the certification section of the form to delete that portion of the certification, and have signed the remainder of the certification as required by state law.

It is quite true that Tennessee State Code actually requires local sherriffs to sign off on NFA tax-stamp paperwork unless the purchaser is prohibited (one of the nice things about living in this state, no doubt), but I completely understand where Sheriff Long is coming from – while that letter was couched in the unavoidable legalese of official correspondence, it was a straight-up CYA maneuver. In short, it is my opinion that Sherriff Long just does not want his name associated with kwikrnu/Leonard Embody should the latter ever finally completely lose his marbles (what is left of them).

Cannot say as though I blame the Sherriff.

So that agenda I mentioned… It was explained to kwikrnu that simply procuring/forming a trust would be sufficient to purchase an NFA item without having to get a Sherriff’s signature… yet kwik’s response to that was simply that he did not want to form one. The trust would let him get his suppressor, ignore the lack of signature from his Sherriff, and go back about his life with nary a care in the world… only is that what he really wants?

It is my opinion that the answer to that question is “no” – he is threatening legal action against the Sherriff, he is looking for advice on how to force the Sherriff to sign the paperwork, and he is generally trying to make this situation as large, as complicated, and as painful as he can. In reality, the Sherriff obeyed the law – he filled out, signed, and submitted the paperwork – however, the law does not require him to fill out the paperwork in a way you desire. Given that there are pre-existing, legal workarounds, given that the Sherriff operated within the bounds of the relevant laws (as he was even informed by his own legal counsel), and given kwikrnu’s history of pushing boundaries, making trouble, and trying to profit off it, I see this incident as nothing more than another extension of the same old story.

Once again, I find myself forced to distance myself from kwikrnu as much as I can – yes, what he is doing is legal; and, yes, what he is requesting is appropriate. But if I were the Sherriff, and if I knew as much about Leonard Embody’s history as Leonard himself has made available on the internet, I would not sign that particular line of the paperwork either. Eventually, kwikrnu is going to slip, and when he does, I would not want my name linked with him or anything he does, nor would I force anyone else to link their name with him, especially given the “demonize everyone even remotly connected to the whackjob” mentality permeating the media these days.

Kwikrnu made his bed. It is my opinion that it is well past time for him to lie in it… and, as this poster pointed out, Sherriff Long is doing nothing more than Leonard Embody himself has done: “using the letter of the law to thwart the intent of the law to make some kind of political or public statement.” Sucks when that shoe is on the other foot, does it not?

(Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. I do not portray one on television. I did not sleep at a Holiday Inn last night. My understanding of the law is based on my own personal interpretation and reading of it, and should not be considered to be binding, factual, or actual. Likewise, any opinions expressed here are mine and mine alone, and are just that – opinions.)