DHS is hardly alone in its surveillance. Assistance is rendered from Amazon, eBay, PayPal and multiple other retail platforms in tracking the sales of the printers and materials used in their operations.
The agency and its various departments teamed up with the New York Police Department earlier this month to raid the home of a city resident. John Raia, 57, was suspected of producing firearms lacking serial numbers, which are illegal under state law, with a 3D printer.
Raia further had the misfortune of possessing standard capacity magazines, which are in common use but are also illegal in New York.
DHS then presented its haul from the private residents for the media.
In the aftermath of the raid, Sgt. Rashawn Vaughn of the Homeland Security Financial Crimes Task Force laid bare the domestic surveillance activities that led to the arrest. Everything from printer materials to metal rails are tracked by the agency in its quest to determine who is building gun parts.
Vaughn explained how DHS monitors purchases by private citizens. “We just basically track internet purchases from eBay, PayPal, Amazon, different various online companies. We get a list every other month, backdated a month, with people purchasing components that could possibly create a ghost gun, like the rails, the 3D printer.”
A law-abiding citizen may appear on DHS radar simply for buying more than expected quantities of supplies or printers.
The federal agency may need to be reminded that there is not a federal law against hobbyists constructing these firearms. This activity has been going on for centuries, and the craftsmanship involved is often handed down through the generations.
The U.S. Supreme Court last month agreed to hear an appeal from the White House over regulations covering so-called “ghost guns.” A 2022 federal regulation that altered the definition of a firearm under federal law was struck down by a district judge last year.
This should have halted DHS’ efforts to suppress this legal activity.
Regardless, powerful retailers are voluntarily handing over records of their transactions to the federal government every two months. This should be worrisome for every law-abiding citizen who values gun rights.
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