Tuesday, September 25, 2012

How to Stop Straw Purchasing


For years Chicago and Cook County officials have been pushing a law that would help close the spigot of guns flowing illegally into the city.

So far, the National Rifle Association has blocked the law in Springfield, but officials here should keep pushing.

The so-called “lost or stolen” law would require gun owners to report a lost or stolen gun within 72 hours of noticing it is missing. It would help discourage “straw buyers” who purchase numerous guns legally in the suburbs and then sell them to felons in Chicago.

Straw buyers often say their weapons were lost or stolen when guns are traced back to them after a crime. A law requiring the reporting of lost or stolen guns would protect legitimate gun-owners, but discourage straw purchases.
That's good, but my way is better.

What do you think?

7 comments:

  1. Straw buyers often say their weapons were lost or stolen when guns are traced back to them after a crime.

    What would prevent a straw buyer from claiming that he didn't realize the firearm was stolen until that time that he is approached by the police? This is why we already have the multiple sales database and mandatory multiple sales reporting, to combat straw buying, but again, the antis call for MORE laws. When that doesn't work, what's next? mandatory secure storage? Then what? It's already a crime to steal a gun, do we next make it a crime to have one stolen? Then what? mandatory, monthly inspections to account for all firearms?

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    1. "What would prevent a straw buyer from claiming that he didn't realize the firearm was stolen until that time that he is approached by the police?"

      Absolutely nothing. That's why this is just another one of the anti-'s feel good laws that do fuck all to actually stopping crimes from happening.

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    2. And straw buyers who really have their "poop in a group" can proactively notify law enforcement that they lost their guns immediately after selling them to criminals. Yet another way they can absolve themselves of accountability.

      More importantly, you can pass all the reporting laws you want about firearms and non of them apply to straw buyers anyway because the Fifth Amendment precludes self-incrimination!!!

      It's a darned good thing gun control proponents know better than the rest of us and are ready to take care of us.

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    3. Oh, my! You mean criminals will do criminal things to stay out of criminal court? What is this world coming to?

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    4. That wouldn't work for the straw purchaser who is enjoying a brisk business now of 10 guns a month.

      You might have a point for the occasional straw buyer or the one-time guy. But we're not concerned about them. We're concerned about the ones who really contribute to the problem. They would be stopped.

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    5. But your solution isn't narrowly targetted at straw purchasers. It would affect every law-abiding gun owner. You're hunting wabbits with a battleship's main battery. A real solution would be to lock up violent offenders and keep them locked up, rather than some broad approach in hopes of catching a handful of bad actors.

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  2. Why don't you support mandatory reporting for stolen electronics? How about television registration? That way, we could trace all those stolen televisions. Property is property. Mikeb, you want gun exceptionalism, but we want equal rights and equal treatment for all property.

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