Lost guns and stupid laws

[herrwalther]

This is mostly going to be a gun related rant post that hopefully other people can relate to. I just came back from my family homelands in upstate NY. One person I visited was my grandfather. He had a very modest collection of 3 rifles going back generations.

A Marlin 1936 (not 336) in 30-30. A Winchester 190 in .22 S/L/LR, and an unknown single shot 22LR rifle I could not identify the last time I saw it. The Marlin was bought by my grandfather's father (My great- grandfather whom I am named after). The Winchester was given to my grandfather by my grandmother as a wedding gift sometime in the late 50s or 60s. All these rifles were bequeathed to me in his living will.

Current legislation recently passed in NY greatly scared my grandfather about willing the firearms to a family member. Just before the law was signed into effect this week, my grandfather sold all these rifles out of fear he or I would become a felon from these firearms. It is very frustrating when an 80 something year old man is scared out of family heirlooms because a law is about to make him a criminal, or thinks he is because he doesn't understand the law very well.

 

[Demi-human]

I’m sorry for the situation. That is not great, and I don’t actually like it.

 

[wiscoaster]

I think you should tell that story to your state senators and assemblyman / representative (or whatever in your state is the "lower" house) so they can see what damage they've done.

 

[PapaG]

Anyone who thinks legislators or any politician cares one whit about them is a fool. Their only goals are money and getting re-elected.

 

[Elkins45]

That is terrible.

 

[jrmiddleton425]

@herrwalther:
Your grandfather could have kept them all without doing anything. The laws don't apply to anything possessed before the date the law took effect (YET).

Am I correct in saying that the Winchester 190 is a semi-auto? If so, as far as that rifle is concerned, you would have needed a permit to transfer it, beginning 90 days after the law took effect.

That said, is there any chance of getting them back? The whole situation...really stinks.

 

[Ru4real]

I’m sorry for you.

I give guns away every year to loved ones. Which ones to who? I have no idea. Govt can suck it.

 

[230RN]

I think you should tell that story to your state senators and assemblyman / representative (or whatever in your state is the "lower" house) so they can see what damage they've done.

Of late, it seems like too many of them want the damage they've done.

Edited for typo

 

[I6turbo]

I think you should tell that story to your state senators and assemblyman / representative (or whatever in your state is the "lower" house) so they can see what damage they've done.

One reason the country is being taken down so easily is that so many people still believe that the take-down not intentional. They foolishly think that the destructive actions that are being taken are just due to a difference in opinion as to what's best for the country and "the global community."

 

[I6turbo]

Of late, it seems like too many of them want the damage they're done.

It doesn't just seem like it. They publicly state that that's their objective.

 

[James Fonteneaux]

I'm sorry for you, that's a terrible situation for sure. Those in power would do well to stop weponizing fear among the population.

 

[Bill M.]

My wife's father turned his wife's father's S & W into the NYC police dept. Wonder which one of the cops on duty that day has it now?

 

[wiscoaster]

Those in power would do well to stop weponizing fear among the population.

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself". A politician was responsible for making that proverb into a long-lasting, famous and oft-repeated quote. Probably one of the few times a politician was ever right.

 

[Atavar]

Umm. Why didn’t he sell them to you?
I would be upset that he didn’t give you right of first refusal. Something’s not adding up here.

 

[Blue Jays]

Can you approach the current (new) owner, explain the situation, and graciously offer him/her a generous amount of money that will make it totally worth it for him/her to sell them back to you to keep the guns in the family?

So sorry to hear that your elderly grandparents were sadly pushed into a panic sell.

 

[herrwalther]

Am I correct in saying that the Winchester 190 is a semi-auto? If so, as far as that rifle is concerned, you would have needed a permit to transfer it, beginning 90 days after the law took effect.

It is a semi-auto. My grandfather was scared with the new NY laws and sold them before they were even signed.

Umm. Why didn’t he sell them to you?
I would be upset that he didn’t give you right of first refusal. Something’s not adding up here.

I live out of state. Far out of state and rarely visit. He was worried the law would make him or I a felon if he transferred them to me after they were passed. I explained the law to him and how it could have been a legal transfer. He has a slew of physical and mental issues (early Alzheimer's is one of them) so it is more difficult for him to understand what is happening in the state government.

Can you approach the current (new) owner, explain the situation, and graciously offer him/her a generous amount of money that will make it totally worth it for him/her to sell them back to you to keep the guns in the family?

That is my current plan and what I am doing. I am trying to track down the current owner and get the Marlin back at the very least. All I know is he sold it to a collector in the small town he used to live in before moving to a care home. There is only one FFL in that town and that was the first place I stopped when he told me. Unfortunately, they weren't there so the haystack is bigger than I thought.

Thank you all. This situation is frustrating for me and all the others that panic sell firearms because of laws. Legislators never think what they pass and how it would effect people. Criminals won't follow these laws. These three rifles spent most of the last 70 years in a closet. The only danger they posed was when the 190 got used to take out squirrels.

 

[wesmonster]

My dad is in his 80s, still in good health, but recently gave me his entire collection of handguns & rifles minus his two favorite ,38s. He says they’re gonna be mine one day, and I’m the only one he shoots with. LOTS of old vintage rimfires. My car looked like it just came from a search & seizure, at least 20 rimfires alone.
If it were me, I’d pass on any firearms and let the kids decide if they want to keep or sell. A lot of my firearms have sentimental value far beyond their cash value. I guess it’s a gamble but to me selling a firearm I like only to find I didn’t have to would leave a bad taste in my mouth.
If laws change, I won’t be thinking “Oh cr@p I can’t sell this” but “Oh cr@p I can’t shoot this”.

 

[The Night Rider]

I think you should tell that story to your state senators and assemblyman / representative (or whatever in your state is the "lower" house) so they can see what damage they've done.

You say that like you think they care.

 

[wiscoaster]

You say that like you think they care.

They claim they care, so let's call them on it and put them to the test. If they fail the test then maybe they need to be replaced.

 

[Remington1911]

The thing I have not seen commented on yet is the poor old woman, she is acting in fear because of all the garbage she is hearing on TV. This is the real issue.

So sorry for you OP, loosing ones history really hits me hard.

 

[230RN]

There is a rush of potential new gun buyers due to the unsettled social situation, especially in the cities. I'm kind of wondering how many of them have discovered they can't possess a firearm and are rejected because of past peccadilloes which aren't actual felonies
.
(Or because of local restrictions....)

People don't realize how tight the restrictions actually are --it isn't just "felonies."

Makes me wonder if that has changed their minds about gun laws.

Terry, 230RN

 

[DustyGmt]

It's unfortunate. Sorry to hear, that would frustrate me to no end that items with family history attached to them were squandered to a probably low balling dealer. It can be frustrating with older folks who don't have a keen grasp of things. I shoot my .22lr and 9mm's sometimes a ways down the tracks when i dont feel like taking a range trip and I have a neighbor down the way who is in his 70's and he informed me that it was against the law to carry a firearm away from my house on my person, "that traveling to the range with it in my vehicle was one thing and that with this "new law" (no new law, nothing he said makes any sense ) and the way it works is that it can be transported in the car but only to the range and I can't just carry it around without a permit (my state doesn't issue permits and is a constitutional carry state).

He was just telling me for my own good. (So I didn't get in trouble).

 

[MaverickDMD]

More guns is always the solution to too many deaths by guns.

 

[herrwalther]

It's unfortunate. Sorry to hear, that would frustrate me to no end that items with family history attached to them were squandered to a probably low balling dealer. It can be frustrating with older folks who don't have a keen grasp of things

I hear that. I've been looking at Marlin 36s on Gunbroker the past few days. Easily they are going for 700 up to 1400. I would not be surprised if my grandfather got less than 700 for all three rifles he parted with.

 

[JTHunter]

Reading these posts reminds me of what my father lost. His 2nd wife claimed they were stolen but refused him access to the house to verify or even collect other items he was there to get. Among what "disappeared" was his M1 and .45 that he purchased when he left the Natl. Guard, several flintlock & percussion cap rifles, a SxS shotgun (per. cap), several sabers, incl. one that had a blade over 3' long with a large filigree bell, and 2 short swords that look like ones a Roman gladiator would use.
Now that my mother is getting quite old, she can no longer work her SP101 in .38 Special so I have taken it home with me. As I already have a GP100 and a Marlin 1894 in .357 and reload both .38 & .357, the SP101 is resting comfortably next to my bed.
(p.s. We live close to each other in the same state so no problem there.)