Victimized twice question.

**Brown-Bear** · April 12th, 2008, 04:14 PM

I've done a little reading (emphasis on little) on this topic and have a question or 2. First do I have this right. The crux of this law is that we as an owner of a firearm are required to report it lost or stolen within a specified time of realizing the loss. Is that right?

2nd. I read a few posts and snowflakes in hell post was helpful. It seems that there is an inheirent(sp) fear of one day finding yourself explaining to an officer of the courts that you had no idea that your gun was missing, whether it be stolen or just plain lost. So now you are responsible for any crimes committed with said firearm? My last question is how long would it take you to notice that one of your guns is missing? I say missing but I mean stolen, because I just don't see how you can "lose" a gun.

Do I have it right or am I off, as I tend to be from time to time.

Dave

**Steve in PA** · April 12th, 2008, 05:09 PM

1) The law was never passed, but yes.....the owner was supposed to report the gun lost or stolen to the police WHEN HE DISCOVERED it lost or stolen. There was no time limit, only to report it when you found it gone.

2) You are NOT responsible for any crime committed with the lost or stolen firearm.

3) I don't know. I have lots of rifles, shotguns and handguns. I go for months at a time if not longer without actually seeing or touching many. If someone keeps their guns in a closet or behind the door and is not an active shooter, it may not be until next hunting season before they find them missing or stolen.

**TaePo** · April 13th, 2008, 08:46 AM

And when you move from one house to another, it is possible for one to go missing (left behind) or become stolen as well.

**Dredly** · April 13th, 2008, 08:58 AM

I can think of numerous instances where a gun could go missing or lost, especially if druggie family members are involved.

Everyone probably knows where their carry gun is but what about the other ones?

I know WHY they are pushing to pass the law and I am sort of for it but I think putting the responsibility on the victim is going about it the wrong way. What will become interesting is how the cops are going to determine when the gun was stolen

- the reason the law is being proposed is because of Straw Buyers who purchase a handgun and then sell it or give it to people who can't legally own and when it traces back they pull the "oh It got stolen" card

**sluggie24** · April 13th, 2008, 09:24 AM

That's why it is so important to keep all your firearms that you are not using locked up in a safe. Even if you can only afford a cheap one it is better than just hiding them in the closet most of the time IMHO.

**BenningBoy** · April 13th, 2008, 03:14 PM

I think the problem was that you had to report it when THEY determined that you should have discovered it. There were no specifics in the language of the bill as to how long that should be. In no other property loss crime would you recieve a penalty for being the victim. If somebody stole your car, and you didn't report it, no penalty. The authorities might think you were an idiot, but there would be no charges against you for not reporting it.

**Garpman** · April 13th, 2008, 04:03 PM

User "Philadelphia" put it best in a similar thread recently. Responsible gun owners would report stolen firearms anyway (because we are responsible, and we love our guns), and responsible gun owners don't lose guns to begin with.

In other words, the law is useless and does not effect crime and criminals. It is also very hard to catch people who straw purchase for criminals and then only remember they had it "stolen" when traced back to them. The law doesn't make it any easier.

**Steve in PA** · April 13th, 2008, 05:21 PM

There was no "when THEY determined YOU should have known it was missing". It was when the owner discovered it missing, period.

Like I said, I go for months at a tiime if not longer without touching or seeing many of my firearms. An example would be my hunting .30/06 rifle. Unless its close to hunting season time, the rifle sits in a case out of sight. I wouldn't know it was stolen until October or so. That's when I would report it, not........"well, we think you should have known in May or June, etc".

**Dredly** · April 15th, 2008, 01:01 PM

Originally Posted by Steve in PA

There was no "when THEY determined YOU should have known it was missing". It was when the owner discovered it missing, period.

Like I said, I go for months at a tiime if not longer without touching or seeing many of my firearms. An example would be my hunting .30/06 rifle. Unless its close to hunting season time, the rifle sits in a case out of sight. I wouldn't know it was stolen until October or so. That's when I would report it, not........"well, we think you should have known in May or June, etc".

Yeah if I read it correctly thats what I thought it said too... but I could be wrong.

"The amendment would have made it mandatory for owners to report missing handguns within three days of discovering that they were gone. Failing to do so could have resulted in a penalty of a summary charge for the first offense and a felony for the third offense."

I'm not entirely sure of ANY situation where I would not report a gun stolen the moment I discovered it was missing... In all honesty I wouldn't have minded seeing this one pass as for the life of me I just can't think of when you wouldn't report it? Maybe someone can come up with a scenario but I'm completely at a loss.