In 2009, the Phoenix division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) initiated Operation Fast and Furious. This policy was designed to let guns "walk" over the U.S./Mexican border. The hope was that the weapons could be tracked down once they got into the hands of drug cartels. Operation Fast and Furious allowed over 2,000 assault weapons to be sold to known and suspected gun runners to take across the border until 2010. As of now, the weapons that claimed the lives of 2 Americans and over 200 Mexicans have been directly traced back to the guns allowed to "walk" across the border through Operation Fast and Furious. The ATF Phoenix division was always incapable of tracking down the weapons, and no justification has been provided for how the conception of this critically ill-advised and harmful operation was possible. This is not just an accident. In 2006, a so-called “Operation Wide Receiver” from the same division has allowed guns to walk across the border in a similar if smaller scale operation. These are the results of irresponsible managerial practice by the ATF in general, if not a greater scheme by a higher US government agency.

This petition is to prevent similar events from happening by holding Eric Holder, Attorney General of the United States, responsible for the mismanagement and lack of oversight in the Department of Justice, of which the ATF is a subsidiary.

In the long term, we want to reduce the US government involvement in increasing drug related violence between the US and Mexico by creating a student monitoring/researching group.

We are launching a campus wide campaign this Thursday, Dec. 1, to raise awareness about the operation and deliver an online petition by Notre Dame students to the House Judiciary Committee (the people responsible for impeachment). Attorney General Holder is testifying in front of the House Judiciary Committee on December 8, 2011, and we want as much support possible before then.

If you could pass along this information and please ask your group members to look out for our campaign and support us by following us on facebook under “Death by Government” and our twitter (@2fast_2furious).