#NotInMYNameWelcome back to another installment of the Watercooler, RedState’s daily Open Thread! Today, we’ve got…

Hell Freezes Over: ATF Advocating to Back Off on Gun Control?

According to one Deputy Director’s just-leaked White Paper spitballing ideas, maybe. Some of the more interesting ideas proposed include:

• Opening FFL eligibility to gun-show-only dealers
• Reforming the “armor-piercing handgun ammo” classification process
• Easing re-import of American-made “Curio & Relic” service arms
• Revising “Sporting Purposes” language to include Modern Sporting Rifles like AR’s and AK’s
• Reclassifying suppressors as non-NFA items–other sources indicate mainstreaming suppressors would dramatically cut ATF workload, allowing more focus on other duties
• Letting FFL’s check potential employees out via NICS before hiring
• Clean house getting rid of outdated regulations like the ’94 AWB

Let us hope and pray that Congress and the Administration embrace Director Turk’s sixteen points… while they’re not quite where I think they ought to be, they’d make a very good start.

This Week In History

• Sunday, 2/5: Congress overrides Wilson’s Immigration Act veto,1917; Tybee Bomb disappears, 1958; Apollo 14 lunar landing, 1971
• Monday, 2/6: Treaties of Alliance and Amity & Commerce signed with France, 1778; Grant takes Ft. Henry, 1862; Spanish-American War peace treaty ratified, 1899
• Tuesday, 2/7: 11th Amdt. ratified, 1795; Pinocchio premieres, 1940; Cuban trade embargo begins, 1962
• Wednesday, 2/8: Richard Johnson first VP chosen by Senate, 1837; Harding installs first radio in White  House, 1922; USMC kicks Japanese off Guadalcanal, 1942
• Thursday, 2/9: British Parliament declares Mass. in rebellion, 1775; Cleveland elevates USDA to Cabinet, 1889; McCarthy takes on State Dept., 1950
• Friday, 2/10: YWCA founded, 1870; Miller’s “Chattanooga Choo Choo” scores the first gold record, 1942; Las Vegas Hilton fire, 1981
• Saturday, 2/11: First Senate session opens to public, 1794; Ike selected as supreme commander in Europe, 1943; first Nam POWs released, 1973

Today’s Birthdays: Authors Jules Verne, 1828 and John Grisham, 1955; Batman co-creator Bill Finger, 1914; composer John Williams, 1932

Holidays Around the World: It’s Preseren Day, when Slovenia celebrates their national culture.

This Week In History is compiled with assistance from History.com and Wikipedia. Something interesting not listed here? Please share in the Comments section–this is an Audience Participation Encouraged featurette.

Gratuitous Gun Giveaways

• *American Handgunner magazine, for an EAA Witness Pavona .380 pistol package: http://americanhandgunner.com/giveaway/
• *Guns Magazine, for a Navy Arms 1892 Coyote Killer lever-action rifle, Magnum Research BFR .30-30 revolver or EAA Witness Pavona .380 pistol: http://gunsmagazine.com/giveaway/
• Davidson’s Gallery of Guns, for a Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0 9mm pistol or Thompson/Center Compass .30-06 bolt-action rifle: https://ggg.galleryofguns.com/
• *Aero Precision, for a custom AR15: http://gvwy.io/fbkfd89
• GrabAGun, for (list): http://grabagun.com/giveaway
• *Primary Arms, for $3000 of AR15 upgrade parts: https://wn.nr/njftDY

*Note: FMG Publishing giveaways require you to provide an FFL dealer’s info at entry. Aero Precision and Primary Arms giveaways give me one entry each per person who uses my referral link.

Quote of the Day

Seems relevant for some reason I can’t put my finger on…

I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars.–Og Mandino

As always, the Watercooler is an Open Thread. Now that you’ve sampled my offerings, the table is open to leave your own tasty morsels.

#NoQuarter #TheParty’sOver