"Rocket Launchers" turned in at L.A. gun buy backl

M-Cameron said:

i had a good laugh when she said "...gun shows and easy background checks adds up to an overly armed america...."

as opposed to those 'hard' background checks...?

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I, too, thought that a bit ironic. After all, wasn't it the anti-gun liberals who demanded "background checks" for everyone before buying a gun?


Ok, so now there's background checks. Oh, what's that? They're too "easy"? Ok, well they were set up to your standards that YOU determined were necessary, demanded, and voted into law. So if they're too easy, whose fault is it, mr. legislator??


And the whole "rocket launcher" grandstanding was ridiculous. They make it out to sound as if anyone can walk into any old gun store and walk out with a fully armed and functional AT4. (They referred to them as RPGs a time or two). Buying this kind of military surplus has been going on for DECADES. What's next, banning the sale of discarded military hardware because of how deadly it "used" to be??


Ridiculous... absolutely ridiculous...

oron said:

Eat the ones 80-83
You have no room to Bitch!

Here we Go!!
oron

1969 Ft. Lewis Wa. Dad brought home empty M-76 Launchers.
All the time. Made G.I. Joes a lot funner.
Also some of the best L.B.E. gear a kid could want.

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Oh for Pete's sake will you kids quit complaining about how bad MRE's are. The darned things are gormet compared to what fellas my age got.

This is where all the ARs are going:



I find it hard to believe anyone would turn in those guns.

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They could be AirSoft guns. Deadly air assault weapons.

Ha! I saw the story on tv at the airport today...i couldnt hear it but i told the wife it was probably an empty tube. Figures. Makes me wonder how/if they would have reacted had it been a live rocket.

Jeepnik, you mean C or K?

Actually, never mind. in either case.

Pops

Yeah, after the "Beans and Franks" MRE you wouldn't be Silent Bob anymore!
Oh, I just crack myself up.

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Me too!

That was funny, I don't care who ya are.

Unless you never ate the Beeny Weenies the Army fed you in cans or bags at one time or another!!

But I'm pretty sure the M-72 LAW rocket tube sight was the "folding thing that goes up" Carolyn McCarthy couldn't define that time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ospNRk2uM3U

rc

My guess is they most likely belonged to a collector, and they were probably stolen Durring a break in.

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My bet is the tubes belonged to some dude who was all, like, totally crazy about that badass launcher at the gunshow last year...and then saw it sitting in the corner of his closet six months later when the news story about the buyback came on (or rather, his wife did )

TCB

Probably pulled them out of evidence to make it appear as if they are making a difference. Heck I wouldnt be suprised if they are on loan from the ATF archives for display in these gun buy back media cluster *&^%s.

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That's what I was thinking. I could just imagine the backroom meeting at the Mayor's office. "Who's bringing the AR15s? and tell Moe in evidence to send up some of the baddest stuff we got."

spanishjames said:

"Who's bringing the AR15s? and tell Moe in evidence to send up some of the baddest stuff we got."

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Thats probably verbatim in the meeting leading up to every single one of these gun buy back programs.

EBK - "Probably pulled them out of evidence to make it appear as if they are making a difference. Heck I wouldnt be suprised if they are on loan from the ATF archives for display in these gun buy back media cluster *&^%s. "

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Count on it. The man wearing the tan shirt is LASD Sheriff Lee Baca. He is an EXTREME anti-Second Amendment hater and is rabid in his belief that the "worker peasants" have no Right to self defense. "You don't need a gun. Just call 9-1-1." His election war chest is heavily funded by the mega-mega-wealthy of L.A., who are also just as anti-Constitution as is Baca ... except for their very well armed, very expensive bodyguards.

The L.A.P.D. Chief of Police whose name escapes me is exactly the same in political ideology, other than he is hired by the L.A. City Council and mayor, all of whom hate, loathe, and despise the Right of the People to Keep and Bear Arms. He marches in lock step with them. If he did not, they would kick him out onto the street in a New York Minute.

Those high end guns on the table came from the Sheriff's and the LAPD's arms rooms. They have lots of those guns. They were not turn ins.

L.W.

I know nothing about military explosives, but if the commenters on YouTube are correct, those LAW tubes are trainers, never having had a live rocket in them.

Found this picture, where the AT-4 tube is clearly marked TRAINER. Probably uses the 9mm sub-caliber training ammo.

Whopper of a victory!

I have a couple. They sometimes give them to the shooters after a shoot. I gave quite a few as novelty gifts to friends too. No big deal. It costs the government more to get rid of them than they are worth recycling.

You wrap blue tape around them to mark them as inert and the ammo guy signs off on them. Then you lug them home. If I remember right though you aren't supposed to sell them.

Edit: Those are AT-4's and are usually disposed of the same way. I have one of those too! They save a few from a shoot and mark them "trainer" to used during the classroom instruction. I have even given those classes.

I like the LAW much better as it is lighter, simpler, and usually easier to hit with. Did I just make a list somewhere?

Oops new edit: I was going to post a pic, but my wife said she gave the last of them away! Dammit! I guess her sister's hubby wanted one.

So what say you LE from LA? It seems to me the LE holding up the tube to show the media could have clarified what it is and why did he specifically grab that instead of something else?

Dreamliner787 said:

So what say you LE from LA? It seems to me the LE holding up the tube to show the media could have clarified what it is and why did he specifically grab that instead of something else?

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Because to the uninformed and misinformed it fits his gun grabber agenda. We see it as no more than an empty rocket tube of fiberglass, the misinformed and uninformed see it as something they must be protected from by their government. The gun grabbers and those who wish to usurp our rights love to grandstand with stuff like this. They prey on the ignorance of others. Really a pathetic lot.

Ron

Don't forget history. There was a time during the 1990s that our firearm banning experts were touting the fact that anyone could buy rocket launchers, grenades launchers, anti- aircraft devices and other 'extreme weapons of war' at gun shows. Even though we have been down this road before, we are now experiencing mass hysteria and all of the anti-self defense idiots are fanning the flames for all they're worth. Political opportunism has never been ethical or honest. Why expect it to be different now. Hang on......it's going to deteriorate and those who are complacent about neutralizing additional firearm controls are in for a very rude awakening.

Whats with the Tin Foil Hattery that the whole thing was staged?

Do you think the moon walk pics and footage are fake too?


There was ariel news footage that had cars in line probably 100 deep.

Pic 2 & 5 here show some of them.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-gun-buyback-pictures,0,308549.photogallery

CA state laws...
The inert M72 LAW and AT4 tubes are classified as "destructive devices", because they are launching devices. Doesn't matter if they are expended.

To be CA legal, they need to be demilled to BATFE specs {Cut a hole, equal to the diameter of the bore, on a 90-degree angle to the axis of the bore, through one side of the barrel in the high pressure (chamber) area; Weld an obstruction into the barrel to prevent the introduction of a round of ammunition.}

That said...

Also under CA state laws, you can own an fully operational rocket launcher (M72 LAW, AT4, RPG7, etc) and ammo for it.
Legal ownership requires BATFE approval and a CA DOJ BOF Dangerous Weapons Permit for a Destructive Device, which can be obtained via a good cause statement of "collecting".

In recent years, several people in CA have legally obtained DDs (M203s, RPG7s) via the "collector" good cause method.




CA Penal Code 16460
(a) As used in Sections 16510, 16520, and 16780, and in Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 18710) of Division 5 of Title 2, "destructive device" includes any of the following weapons:
(2) Any bomb, grenade, explosive missile, or similar device or any launching device therefor.
(4) Any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device of a diameter greater than 0.60 inch, or any launching device therefor, and any rocket, rocket-propelled projectile, or similar device containing any explosive or incendiary material or any other chemical substance, other than the propellant for that device, except those devices as are designed primarily for emergency or distress signaling purposes.

If anyone believes that table full of AR's and Uzis are guns turned in for a gift card, I've got an ocean front property in Indiana we need to talk about you buying........

danez71 said:

Whats with the Tin Foil Hattery that the whole thing was staged?

Do you think the moon walk pics and footage are fake too?


There was ariel news footage that had cars in line probably 100 deep.

Pic 2 & 5 here show some of them.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-la-gun-buyback-pictures,0,308549.photogallery

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I am sure they had tons of people show up with guns to turn in. I am not doubting that.

What I am doubting is the number of "assault weapons" they claim to have picked up as a result. And the rocket launchers. Its all sensationalism. "see we got people to turn in thier evil guns it will work to just ban them"

Do you think the moon walk pics and footage are fake too?

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1) Its a lot harder to fake something that complicated, than it is to pack the bullet-boxes (tee hee) with some spare junk from the ammo locker
2) I do have a hard time believing people who possessed "assault weapons" (which were likely bought in the last few years) would part with them for a mere 100$ in Monopoly money.
3) It is incredibly, implausibly strange that a low-dollar buyback in such an unfriendly and unenthusiastic location for gunownership would net so many more functional weapons of so many more varieties than has ever been seen at any other buyback (including those after Aurora and Columbine). I've not heard of buybacks before or since bringing anywhere close to the numbers of functional and valuable weapons as LA is claiming.

TCB

Those "turn in's" seem to be the best place to dump a murder weapon, no questions asked.

Charlie Beck is the current Chief of Police for the City of Los Angeles.
Lee Baca, as stated with a very good description in an earlier post, is the County of Los Angeles Sheriff.
Looking closely at the picture I don't doubt that they picked up a couple of pre-ban IMI Uzi's. My bet is that those were never registered under Roberti-Roos, so now was a very convenient time to dispose of such, and gain a bit of cash in the process. Considering the public sentiment over Connecticut, the feeling here in California is very anti-gun in this region, and has been anti-self defense for a long time, contrary to what many of us would like to believe. With most people fully conditioned over many years to dial 911 for their most basic needs, and a general lifestyle that relies on "authorities", you can see how this has come about.
I have watched on a couple of occasions truckloads (yes, I said truckloads) of firearms being sent into the smelter, and saw some decent pieces destroyed, so it is no surprise. Folks are going through very hard economic times, so every bit of cash helps.

If anyone believes that table full of AR's and Uzis are guns turned in for a gift card, I've got an ocean front property in Indiana we need to talk about you buying........

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No Uzis were reported to be turned in.

Only 75 'assault weapons' were reported out of 2037 total guns.

What I am doubting is the number of "assault weapons" they claim to have picked up as a result

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Only 75 of 2037 total guns = 3.68% which I think is roughly the same % of murders by gun that are 'assult weapons' so the stats make sense in general.

And the rocket launchers. Its all sensationalism. "see we got people to turn in thier evil guns it will work to just ban them"

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Agreed.

1) Its a lot harder to fake something that complicated, than it is to pack the bullet-boxes (tee hee) with some spare junk from the ammo locker
2) I do have a hard time believing people who possessed "assault weapons" (which were likely bought in the last few years) would part with them for a mere 100$ in Monopoly money.
3) It is incredibly, implausibly strange that a low-dollar buyback in such an unfriendly and unenthusiastic location for gunownership would net so many more functional weapons of so many more varieties than has ever been seen at any other buyback (including those after Aurora and Columbine). I've not heard of buybacks before or since bringing anywhere close to the numbers of functional and valuable weapons as LA is claiming.

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1) I dont know why you think that. There are whistle blowers in LE too you know. It would be waaay hard to pull off what youre suggesting.

2) 1st, it was $200 for assault weapon and $100 for non-assault weapon.If it was bought 18 yrs ago they be getting at least .50 cents on the dollar. If it was a shot gun or 22, it'd be about the same or better.

2nd, Why do you assume they were bought in the last few years? CA still has an AWB.... it never expired since 94. If they were 'assualt weapons', they were bought before 94. 18 years ago!

3) LA has collected almost 8000 guns in buy back programs since 2009. That roughly 2000 guns per year averaged. This year they collected 2037. That about right on track with the yearly average of the past 4 yrs; only ~ 5% increase.

See below for more...

Those "turn in's" seem to be the best place to dump a murder weapon, no questions asked.

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Also stolen weapons. LA has more than its fair share of houses being broken into.

So while LA may not be a gun enthusiast mecca (although you may be surprised), a lot of weapons are stolen in burgleries and then turned in for gift cards so the thief doesnt even need to worry about selling a stolen gun.


The #'s make sense if you look at it logically.

Sources:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lan...luding-75-assault-weapons-and-a-launcher.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/...-2012-grocery-gift-cards-video_n_2365615.html

^^^Well said.