Los Angeles City Councilman would make a misdemeanor of failure to report gun loss or

[Chuck Dye]

City Councilman Jack Weiss, chairman of the Public Safety Committee, said he would introduce a city ordinance today that would call for the prosecution of gun owners who don't report stolen or missing weapons within 48 hours. Conviction would be a misdemeanor.

"It is my goal that the ordinance will make a modest but important dent in gun violence," Weiss said, explaining that it would help aid the Los Angeles Police Department in its crime investigations. "When your gun is lost or stolen, you report it in 48 hours or you can go to jail."

Similar laws exist in the Bay Area cities of San Francisco, Oakland and Berkeley.



http://www.latimes.com/news/local/l...a-commun-los_angeles_metro&ctrack=1&cset=true

 

[Mr.V.]

Living in LA, that's one of the less onerous. The worst is not being able to buy ammo online. The next is not being able to buy a gun with a barrel less than 4" (correct me on the exact figure, but I know you can't buy a H&K USP Compact but the fullsize is okay).

Then maybe this one.

 

[Low-Sci]

I actually don't see a problem with that. I can't see a downside to reporting a gun stolen to the police as soon as you think its been stolen.

I suppose there's the conspiratorial off-chance that you bought a gun off the grid and wanted it to stay that way until it was stolen, but that seems like an outside chance to me.

Why wouldn't you report a stolen firearm?

 

[Norton]

We fought this off here last year.

Low-sci, like most so-called reasonable measures the devil is in the details of this one.

What if you are gone for a week and come home to find a theft has occured? Furthermore, let's hypothesize that your gun was recovered from a crime scene on Tuesday and you didn't get home and report it until Saturday.

You've done your part according to the law, but it's more than 48 (or 24, or whatever arbitrary number they put on it) hours after the theft occured.

An overzealous Attorney General could make your life very miserable by charging you. You might be acquitted, but at the cost to you of lots of money in attorney fees, lost time from work, etc.

This MD version said, "upon discovery of the loss" but I wouldn't rely on the kindness of the state to believe when you actually discovered the loss.

 

[Low-Sci]

Ah, I see. I suppose I didn't really think about that. When you put it that way, it does seem awfully stupid.

 

[bclark1]

it should be the prerogative of the gun owner, just as anything else. i think it's foolish not to report it, but it shouldn't be a prosecutable offense. the bottom line of it all is another gun law on the books to be abused, that clearly does not serve it's stated intention. great, so we know a gun's missing. how does that cut back on crime? once we know it's missing, does batman use his spidey-gun-locator to recover it before the would-be shooter can stick up louis lane? pointless.

 

[ArmedBear]

It'd be stupid not to report it anyway, IF you knew about it.

Why do guns get stolen? To use in crime. The last thing I want is some gun that might get traced back to me, used in a crime. Absent other evidence, I'd have some serious 'splainin' to do.

So all this law would do is punish those who were on vacation and got burglarized. No safe is 100% impervious to break-in, though some are close. It's entirely possible that you were as responsible as you could be, and still had a gun stolen.

That means that the target of the law is US: responsible, law-abiding gun owners.

 

[Zundfolge]

"It is my goal that the ordinance will make a modest but important dent in gun violence," Weiss said

Bovine Scat!

Your real goal is to make gun ownership such a PITA that less and less people will do so, thus making sure less and less people care about gun laws so it will be easier for you to pull a SanFrancisco and outright ban the damn things.

You CLEARLY don't care about gun violence or you would be making ownership and carrying of guns by law abiding citizens easier, not harder.

 

[AJAX22]

Dang, another law I didn't know about.

I don't get how its going to prevent violance.

Believe me I'd report a gun being stolen the second it went missing (or as soon as I knew about it) but what if i go out of town for a few days and I get burgled?

 

[saddenedcitizen]

Um - another reason

Confiscation scenario - ala Katrina

'Gee, I don't have that one ( or those ) anymore - they were stolen'

'Did you report the theft and if so, where's the report ?'

'Um - no, I didn't'

'Up against the wall !!!!!!!!!'

You're caught either way !!

And as another poster said ( a good friend of mine made this point 30 years ago )

If they can make ownership enough of a PITA,
fewer and fewer will even bother so they win over the long haul through sheer attrition !!!!!!!

 

[Dragoon44]

What if you are gone for a week and come home to find a theft has occured? Furthermore, let's hypothesize that your gun was recovered from a crime scene on Tuesday and you didn't get home and report it until Saturday.

Oh please....the first thing your going to do when you get home and find your house burglarized is call the cops to report it. claiming your going to end up charged because the stolen weapon was used in a crime a few days earlier is absurd. NO law can hold you accountable to report something before you are aware of it.

 

[Norton]

Oh please....the first thing your going to do when you get home and find your house burglarized is call the cops to report it. claiming your going to end up charged because the stolen weapon was used in a crime a few days earlier is absurd. NO law can hold you accountable to report something before you are aware of it.

Yes, I would report it as soon as I know about it.

To claim that it's absurd that you would be charged is to deny the political motivations in passing such laws. It is indeed targeted at lawful gun owners and would seek to punish them for being victims of crime.

This may not be the case in other states, but is certainly representative of the attitude here in MD.

 

[ArmedBear]

Remember, even if you can ultimately defend your innocence in court, your life can be wrecked and eveything you've ever worked for can be lost by your having to do so. Its one of the injustices of our justice system.

 

[Dragoon44]

Yes, I would report it as soon as I know about it.

To claim that it's absurd that you would be charged is to deny the political motivations in passing such laws. It is indeed targeted at lawful gun owners and would seek to punish them for being victims of crime.

First I would say that there is no evidence to support any claim that all gunowners are lawful. second, the law would seem to me to be aimed at preventing anyone who used thier weapon for illegal purposes or loaned it to another for such purposes from claiming " oh that gun was stolen some time ago." to get off the hook. Third, if you want to oppose the measure then why not do it in a straight forward manner? why stoop to the scare tactics used by the anti gunners? who regularly use improbable and erroneous scenarios to push thier own agenda.

 

[Car Knocker]

why stoop to the scare tactics used by the anti gunners? who regularly use improbable and erroneous scenarios to push thier own agenda.

Ever heard of the Lautenberg Amendment? Lots of folks thought something like that being passed was improbable, let alone the retroactive gun prohibitions it containes.

I believe you have a very optimistic outlook on the workings of government.

 

[Norton]

why stoop to the scare tactics used by the anti gunners?

It's not a scare tactic when the Attorney General of your state has made it perfectly clear that his ultimate goal is to completely disarm everyone.

Furthermore, it is not a scare tactic when the police chief of one of the largest jurisdictions in the state has stated explicitly that he will vigorously prosecute anyone in violation of any firearms statute and pursue the maximum penalty in every case.

In MD, this means that if one violates the transport law and stops to use the bathroom you can end up with a 5 year prison sentence.

It's not a scare tactic when you are simply illustrating an all too plausible scenario that is based on the actualities of where you live.

there is no evidence to support any claim that all gunowners are lawful.

In my case, and the case of all firearms owners that I associate with, I do indeed behave lawfully and don't need the looming specter of an overzealous state prosecutor making a name for himself by deciding to prosecute me at the expense of my financial, social and professional life.

 

[orionengnr]

dragoon44

First I would say that there is no evidence to support any claim that all gunowners are lawful.

Ever hear of "due process"?
Ever hear of "innocent until proven guilty"?

Put your broad brush back where it came from. Or else start looking over your shoulder, because you are next...

 

[Standing Wolf]

I find myself missing the temperate climate and beaches less and less.

 

[orionengnr]

Standing Wolf

I hear you, bro. I left one of the saner(?) parts of LA County (Torrance) in Jan 2001.

Weather is one thing. Climate is another.

Long live those who recognise the difference!

 

[MDMadrid]

The point of the Law

The point is not about whether you report it missing or not, it is about loosing more of your liberties. Was this ordinance put out with good intentions? Yes...well maybe. Does it sound good on the surface? Yes...well maybe.

The point is that the Govt. is requiring you to do yet another thing. Are you loosing more of your freedom? Yes. Should you report a gun missing/stolen? Yes, but as a requirement of the govt. and face charges if you don't...again where does it stop?

Here in SC the govt. is making an ordinance to limit the use of firearms near any road way. Where does it stop!?!

 

[Libertyteeth]

Is it not true that semiauto "assault rifles" are banned in California? What if you have an illegal "assault rifle" which is stolen? Would it be in your interest to report it? If you don't, that's another nail in your coffin.

 

[AJAX22]

Here's another puzler for you.

Your CA compliant semi automatic centerfire rifle gets stolen, the perp picks up the pistol grip and flashhider you have stored next to it and attaches it.

Oh cr@p, the rifle I reported stolen is recovered, and all of a sudden I'm in posession of an unlicenced assult rifle.

not really relevent to this exact law, but its something to think about.

The people who sell their weapons illegaly and claim that they were stolen in order to cover up their illicit sale, are usually the first ones to report gun theft. I think this is the demographic that this law is supposed to target.

Doesn't make a lot of sense, but eventually if they pass enough laws, we'll all be breaking something. Then they can legally take away our rights to own anything at all.

 

[mountainclmbr]

LA and CA in general....

 

[wolf]

key phrase: Los Angeles City Councilman

It's hard to comprehend, if you don't live here and follow, even from afar, the behavior of these "well-meaning" city leaders.

Cases in point:
They banned "silly string".
They wanted nude dancers to be 10 feet away from the customers (Five feet ain't enough..??)
They want to "laser stamp" semi-auto handgun ammo..revolvers are exempt!...

and of course they want to tax ammo..five cents a round.

The list is endless..and of course Los Angeles is a "sanctuary city"

After a while you stop laughing at them..and start being scared.

wolf

 

[JesseJames]

Wow. Legislators trying to make irresponsible people responsible.
Good luck with that.