Sheriffs in US putting assault rifles back on the streets...

[dle]

This article ranks right up there with the dumbest US moves ever and they've made some dillies. I can only hope Canada isn't as stupid in this regard.....

https://www.castanet.net/news/World/219 ... ult-rifles

When law enforcement agencies in Washington and other states sell guns they've confiscated during criminal investigations, they're not just selling pistols and hunting rifles, they're also putting assault weapons, including AR-15s, back on the street.

Sheriff's offices and police departments across Washington state have sold dozens of AR-15s, AK47s and other assault weapons since 2010, an Associated Press investigation found.

[Jflem1983]

I see no problem with this at all. Why shouldnt they sell seized guns . Law abiding gun owners do not tend to get arrested much. Also the term assualt rifle is a misnomer. All an ar 15 is is a semi auto 22. Fires a 223 remington. Hot little round. But its tiny. Not even legal to hunt deer with in sask.

Heck i got a semi auto 308. It lays down withering fire. Perfectly legal.

[dle]

I see no problem with this at all. Why shouldnt they sell seized guns . Law abiding gun owners do not tend to get arrested much. Also the term assualt rifle is a misnomer. All an ar 15 is is a semi auto 22. Fires a 223 remington. Hot little round. But its tiny. Not even legal to hunt deer with in sask.

Heck i got a semi auto 308. It lays down withering fire. Perfectly legal.

I don't purport to know a damn thing about AK-47's or the specs of any other gun - if you say their name is a misnomer, it could very well be. However, i don't feel there is any reason for anyone to have a working AK-47 "assault rifle" other than the military etc for combat purposes.

Admittedly I am in favour of gun control. I certainly don't believe, as Donald Trump does, that arming teachers is the way to go! Teachers don't want to be armed in most cases for starters. They chose teaching as a career to teach - not to carry guns. Will they be fired if they won't pick up arms? What about the actual sheriff or whatever type of law enforcement agent it was in attendance who WAS armed and WAS THERE TO PROTECT, who wouldn't even enter the building? A lot of good having him armed did eh?

Arming someone isn't always the answer. I realize this is as touchy a subject as it gets. In this instance, I am specifically referring to law enforcement returning guns to the streets from where they were seized as having been used to commit crimes already. There is enough grief out there, why add to it in such a way?

Just because something is "legal" doesn't make it a good idea and sometimes makes it downright stupid, as I feel this is.

Kids are getting shot in school, innocent people are getting killed by being in the vicinity of one gang banger taking out another, armed home invasions are being committed against elderly people etc. There are enough guns out there, legally in a lot of cases, being used in illegal acts....we don't need to add the ones already seized back into the mix. Just doesn't make any sense to me.

[dle]

More from the article:

But Yakima Police Captain Jeff Schneider said it's "absolutely insane" that police are selling assault weapons.

"It's a bad idea to sell guns. It's a really bad idea to sell an assault rifle," said Schneider, whose agency melts down confiscated guns. "It's possible a firearm sold by a police agency could be used in a mass shooting, but since they are rare, it's more likely it could be used in a crime against police. That's a real threat."

In Washington, more than a dozen of the guns sold by law enforcement since 2010 ended up in new crimes, the AP found , and while none was an assault rifle, many fear it's only a matter of time.

Assault rifles are the weapons of choice in mass shootings. An AR-15-style assault rifle was used in this month's deadly shooting at a Florida high school, as well as mass shootings at a Las Vegas music festival; a Texas church; an Orlando, Florida, nightclub; a San Bernardino, California, social services centre; a Newtown, Connecticut, elementary school; and an Aurora, Colorado, movie theatre.

After reading this, what part of selling these guns back to the public makes sense? The guns should be destroyed...

[Even Steven]

After reading this, what part of selling these guns back to the public makes sense? The guns should be destroyed...

Why?

They're selling them to a law abiding citizens. The same citizen can walk into a store and buy same rifles. So, NOT selling them WON'T prevent people from acquiring these legal firearms. Destroying them is an option I guess, but if they can raise some money for the department at expense of bad guys, why not?

[dle]

After reading this, what part of selling these guns back to the public makes sense? The guns should be destroyed...

Why?

They're selling them to a law abiding citizens. The same citizen can walk into a store and buy same rifles. So, NOT selling them WON'T prevent people from acquiring these legal firearms. Destroying them is an option I guess, but if they can raise some money for the department at expense of bad guys, why not?

But that's just it - we don't know that they are selling them to law abiding citizens! A lot of gang members own legitimate businesses to launder their money and dress like businesspeople, and that's the persona they project to their neighbours. How many times do we hear the neighbours report after a "law abiding citizen" goes bezerk with a gun, or is found to be in a gang, that they had no idea and had trouble believing it? These guys have the fake credentials of a law abiding citizen and/or pass other criteria to buy the gun but as the sheriff said they ARE being used to commit crimes again so somehow they got into the hands of a not-so-law abiding citizen - again.

Melt them down, sell that, and give the money to the department.

[Dizzy1]

Law abiding gun owners do not tend to get arrested much.

They're selling them to a law abiding citizens.

Stephen Paddock was a law abiding citizen when he acquired his arsenal to mow down 58 people in a matter of minutes.

[Even Steven]

Stephen Paddock was a law abiding citizen when he acquired his arsenal to mow down 58 people in a matter of minutes.

I think you're missing the point. The sheriff's department isn't doing anything that hundreds of stores aren't doing at the same time. They follow the same laws and same criteria. You want to prevent things like Stephen Paddock from happening you do it by changing laws and restrictions, not by preventing ONE store (sheriff's department in this case) from selling guns while dozens of stores sell the same guns in the same postal code.

[Even Steven]

A lot of gang members own legitimate businesses to launder their money and dress like businesspeople, and that's the persona they project to their neighbours.

I highly doubt that sheriff's department is selling firearms based on how people dress and their "persona".

[Jlabute]

It’s unlikely the US will become like Canada and restrict the living daylights out of the smallest of weapons. They love their second amendment and right to bear arms even though it is an old rule of law, and much less common in modern constitutions. I don’t think they are ready yet to rewrite their constitution.

“A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.”

I could see more laws put in place perhaps, restricting more powerful weapons and increasing the age of ownership. As for cops selling used weapons, I’d worry more about liability and the used weapons being in substandard condition ;-)

What else can you do other than lay down more restrictive laws to obtain an assault weapon? If you had a new law like you had to be over 25 before being able to purchase a semi-automatic, or automatic gun, would that fly? You could still illegally obtain one.

[Dizzy1]

I think you're missing the point. The sheriff's department isn't doing anything that hundreds of stores aren't doing at the same time. They follow the same laws and same criteria. You want to prevent things like Stephen Paddock from happening you do it by changing laws and restrictions, not by preventing ONE store (sheriff's department in this case) from selling guns while dozens of stores sell the same guns in the same postal code.

No point has been missed. Weapons that shouldn't be out in general circulation are being put back out there. Weapons that have already been used for criminal activity. The very same weapons that could very well have been used against the officers putting them back out on the street and hopefully, one day won't be used against them again are being put out with a risk that they can be used in the same way they were confiscated in the first place.

Kinda like being back in school when the bully grabs your arm, and starts hitting you in the face with it yelling "stop hitting yourself, stop hitting yourself"

Darwinism at its finest

[Dizzy1]

Also the term assualt rifle is a misnomer. All an ar 15 is is a semi auto 22. Fires a 223 remington. Hot little round. But its tiny. Not even legal to hunt deer with in sask.

Seemed like a great choice for Stephan Paddock when he used 14 of them to help kill 58 people in Vegas. Thats OK, its tiny - not legal to hunt deer with but good enough to massacre 58 innocent humans

[Dizzy1]

The weapon of choice for US Mass Shootings ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/06 ... y-america/

... here's an idea, lets take the ones we seized that were used in criminal activity and put them back out in general circulation

[JagXKR]

Stephen Paddock was a law abiding citizen when he acquired his arsenal to mow down 58 people in a matter of minutes.

Did he buy any of those guns from a police sale? Even 1 gun?
The o/p is about police seized guns sold back to the public. Have any guns from these sales ever been used in a mass shooting? Please provide a link.

[Dizzy1]

Did he buy any of those guns from a police sale? Even 1 gun?
The o/p is about police seized guns sold back to the public. Have any guns from these sales ever been used in a mass shooting? Please provide a link.

Police. Cabela's. Walmart.

What does it matter who's selling the guns? The fact alone that these guns being resold were already used in some sort of criminal activity and to put them back out on the street is beyond ludicrous.