A new ordinance taking effect Saturday

[larrymeyer]

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/ne...8-1560831.html

Philly sets $1,900 fine for not reporting lost gun

The Associated Press

PHILADELPHIA - A new ordinance taking effect Saturday in Philadelphia is intended to crack down on irresponsible gun owners.

Citizens who fail to report a lost or stolen firearm within 24 hours can now be fined up to $1,900.

Repeat offenders will face another steep fine or 90 days in jail.

The strict penalties are part of the Lost or Stolen Firearm Ordinance, one of the three surviving pieces of gun legislation that Mayor Michael Nutter signed into law in April.

A judge blocked two more aggressive laws Nutter signed that would have instituted a one-gun-per-month limit and an assault-weapons ban.

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Information from: Philadelphia Daily News, http://www.philly.com

[Evolution]

This will be challenged as soon as they try to arrest or fine someone...

[PisnNapalm]

*finger* to Philly.

[RoyJackson]

I think most of the fines (assuming this law passes court muster) will be suspended for the first "offense".
However, I do expect pretty strict penalties levied against repeat offenders. I can't say I'd disagree with that either. How many people lose more then one firearm...unless they're a straw purchaser (rhetorical question)?

[jahwarrior72]

** to Philly.

fixed that for ya...

[gnbrotz]

Just wondering.....if my gun is lost or stolen, and I don't report it, how do they know that I didn't report it?

[Evolution]

Just wondering.....if my gun is lost or stolen, and I don't report it, how do they know that I didn't report it?

Good point... now Mayor Nutjob will sign a registry into law... lmao

[Swarner793]

Just wondering.....if my gun is lost or stolen, and I don't report it, how do they know that I didn't report it?

As I read this, I heard it in that comedian Steven Wright's (I think that is his name, real monotone voice, always depressed sounding) voice. Spit beer on the screen. Too funny!

Be safe.

Scott

[Chilly Willy]

Just wondering.....if my gun is lost or stolen, and I don't report it, how do they know that I didn't report it?

Not sure if my sarcasm detector is broken but if that's a real question I'll attempt to answer. What I'm about to say comes from what I've read as justifications for laws like this, not from my own opinion.

Usually when I see a law like this proposed it's not meant so much to target owners of actual stolen guns, it is meant as a tool to use against straw purchasers. The thinking seems to be that if a gun used in a crime is recovered, police will try to track it from the manufacturer, to the distributer/wholesaler, to the retailer, then through the 4473 to the original purchaser, and so on. The buck has to stop somewhere, especially with handguns since with few exceptions resales are supposed to go though an FFL (or sheriff) - ideally, this process would eventually lead to the person who committed the crime if they bought the gun legitimately, or to a straw purchaser if that's how the gun was acquired by the person who committed the crime.

If the trail does lead to a straw purchaser, it seems like they would try to claim the gun was stolen to try to get the attention off themselves. Without this law, there may not be much the police could do about it. With this law, the police have a tool to convince the purchaser to tell them who they bought the gun for, and then they have a chance to continue tracking it, hopefully until they find the person who used it in the crime. If the straw purchaser doesn't tell the police anything except that it was stolen, the police at least have a roundabout way to punish the straw purchaser, even if they can't technically prove the straw purchase.

If the gun truly was stolen, it most likely would have been reported, which will let the police know that this line of their investigation has pretty much petered out.

Now all that sounds nice in theory, but I'm not sure if I completely buy it in practice. Especially in this case, it seems like it would be to easy to abuse the law. Usually with these types of laws, there is some kind of language like the gun has to be reported stolen within XX hours of the owner dicovering the theft. I can't find that language in stories about this specific law, which means you could be screwed if you don't discover the theft within 24 hours - for example if you are on vacation or a business trip when the theft occurs. State preemption should take care of this one once it's challenged anyway, right?

[gnbrotz]

Usually when I see a law like this proposed it's not meant so much to target owners of actual stolen guns, it is meant as a tool to use against straw purchasers.

Straw purchases are already both a state & federal crime. Number of straw purchase prosecutions in Philly in the last three years? 0

With this law, the police have a tool to convince the purchaser to tell them who they bought the gun for, and then they have a chance to continue tracking it, hopefully until they find the person who used it in the crime. If the straw purchaser doesn't tell the police anything except that it was stolen, the police at least have a roundabout way to punish the straw purchaser, even if they can't technically prove the straw purchase.

Except for that pesky Fifth Amendment protection. Now they simply don't say anything, and there's not a thing the police can do.