Another Small Victory

Via David Codrea, SayUncle, David Hardy and just about every other gun blogger comes this happy news:

The federal government will not file criminal charges against any of the 15 out-of-state gun dealers accused by Mayor Bloomberg in a federal lawsuit of selling guns illegally, the Daily News has learned.

In a stern rebuke to the city's high-profile crusade against illegal guns, the feds warned the Bloomberg administration that it could face "potential legal liabilities" if it continues to conduct sting operations that fall within the jurisdiction of federal agents.

Mr. Codrea, being the brilliant snarkmeister he is -- and David, if you're reading this I mean that in only the most complimentary way! -- says, "Looks like the Feds don't want the Iotians muscling in on their territory. What were we just saying about gangland turf wars?"
At first I didn't quite agree with his somewhat negative take on Bloomberg's rebuke from the federales, but on second thought I understand and do indeed agree. From what I remember about Bloomberg's crusade, he was sending his henchmen into certain gun shops with instructions basically to coerce the dealers into making straw sales, which more or less constitutes entrapment; in fact, again, from what I remember, some of this entrapment was actually caught on tape. Michael Bloomberg and his hired thugs should be thrown in jail and made an example of how not to go about one's business as a public official, but I'm betting they won't be, which will only illustrate Mr. Codrea's contention that the federales are just ticked off that Bloomie's intruding on their turf. I like to think of Bloomie's rebuke as a small victory, but even so it's probably just going to be symbolic more than anything else, and that's a damn shame.