Drizzt
Member
Council debates fate of seized guns
BY CHRISTINA M. WOODS
The Wichita Eagle
Council debates fate of seized guns
A divided Wichita City Council argued Tuesday over whether it makes sense for the city to destroy the 650 or so firearms police seize each year.
Wichita police destroy about $40,000 worth of firearms a year.
Council members disagree on whether those weapons should be sold instead in order to save taxpayers money.
Those who oppose selling the weapons say it would put them back in the hands of criminals.
A committee assigned in January to evaluate the matter didn't make a recommendation to the council.
Instead, four weapons disposal options were presented during a workshop Tuesday:
• Continue destroying all weapons that aren't used for instructional purposes.
• Sell parts.
• Sell the whole weapon.
• Trade the weapons.
Regardless of the option, weapons from federal court cases are off limits for the city to sell or trade. Other exclusions include weapons with little or no value, those used to cause death or serious injury and those that are illegal to possess.
Deputy Police Chief Terri Moses said the Police Department supports continuing to destroy the weapons, as it has done since the 1990s.
"We in law enforcement have long learned that crime prevention is a valuable tool," she said, "and one of the primary forms of crime prevention is essentially eliminating access."
City Council member Carl Brewer agreed and didn't back down during a verbal exchange with fellow council member Paul Gray.
Brewer argued that it's senseless to spend taxpayers' money to remove firearms from the streets just to turn around and sell them. He said it is wrong to sell firearms when people are grieving because of gun violence. He added that the potential liability to the city is not worth the money it would raise.
"There is no reason that says we actually have to do this," Brewer said. "And the total amount that we're going to actually make -- it's not even worth making that kind of investment."
Gray, who last year introduced the idea of selling the weapons, said that the city would sell seized weapons to licensed, reputable dealers.
He said the odds are low that a firearm sold to an out-of-state company would find its way back to a Wichita criminal. He said the threat of lawsuits shouldn't stop the plan, because that threat exists no matter what the city does.
"There's people who are always going to be against this no matter what the combination," Gray said. "But $40,000, $50,000, $30,000 is a significant amount of revenue that we pass up each year."
Council member Jim Skelton said he was concerned about liability, but was interested in the potential to raise money without increasing taxes.
Sharon Fearey summed up her position in two words: "Destroy them."
Council member Bob Martz said he also supports destroying the weapons even though he was initially in favor of selling them.
Vice Mayor Sue Schlapp said she was not convinced that selling the weapons would make a significant fiscal impact. She said she wants more information.
Mayor Carlos Mayans did not say outright whether he supported destruction or reselling the weapons. He did say that "guns don't hurt people. People hurt people."
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/12459822.htm
BY CHRISTINA M. WOODS
The Wichita Eagle
Council debates fate of seized guns
A divided Wichita City Council argued Tuesday over whether it makes sense for the city to destroy the 650 or so firearms police seize each year.
Wichita police destroy about $40,000 worth of firearms a year.
Council members disagree on whether those weapons should be sold instead in order to save taxpayers money.
Those who oppose selling the weapons say it would put them back in the hands of criminals.
A committee assigned in January to evaluate the matter didn't make a recommendation to the council.
Instead, four weapons disposal options were presented during a workshop Tuesday:
• Continue destroying all weapons that aren't used for instructional purposes.
• Sell parts.
• Sell the whole weapon.
• Trade the weapons.
Regardless of the option, weapons from federal court cases are off limits for the city to sell or trade. Other exclusions include weapons with little or no value, those used to cause death or serious injury and those that are illegal to possess.
Deputy Police Chief Terri Moses said the Police Department supports continuing to destroy the weapons, as it has done since the 1990s.
"We in law enforcement have long learned that crime prevention is a valuable tool," she said, "and one of the primary forms of crime prevention is essentially eliminating access."
City Council member Carl Brewer agreed and didn't back down during a verbal exchange with fellow council member Paul Gray.
Brewer argued that it's senseless to spend taxpayers' money to remove firearms from the streets just to turn around and sell them. He said it is wrong to sell firearms when people are grieving because of gun violence. He added that the potential liability to the city is not worth the money it would raise.
"There is no reason that says we actually have to do this," Brewer said. "And the total amount that we're going to actually make -- it's not even worth making that kind of investment."
Gray, who last year introduced the idea of selling the weapons, said that the city would sell seized weapons to licensed, reputable dealers.
He said the odds are low that a firearm sold to an out-of-state company would find its way back to a Wichita criminal. He said the threat of lawsuits shouldn't stop the plan, because that threat exists no matter what the city does.
"There's people who are always going to be against this no matter what the combination," Gray said. "But $40,000, $50,000, $30,000 is a significant amount of revenue that we pass up each year."
Council member Jim Skelton said he was concerned about liability, but was interested in the potential to raise money without increasing taxes.
Sharon Fearey summed up her position in two words: "Destroy them."
Council member Bob Martz said he also supports destroying the weapons even though he was initially in favor of selling them.
Vice Mayor Sue Schlapp said she was not convinced that selling the weapons would make a significant fiscal impact. She said she wants more information.
Mayor Carlos Mayans did not say outright whether he supported destruction or reselling the weapons. He did say that "guns don't hurt people. People hurt people."
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/12459822.htm
Someone could use an old Wichita car to drive recklessly and hurt somebody, can't have that.
