In 2012, the Georgia Legislature passed a statute to forbidding the police to destroy valuable firearms. The statute requires that firearms in possession of police — whether confiscated, seized or otherwise acquired — be sold to legal dealers. Once administrative costs are covered, the money from the sale goes to the general fund of the administering political subdivision.
When the law went into effect, a number of Georgia political subdivisions violated the law with impunity. The chief amongst them: the City of Atlanta. Guns sold at auction by police usually bring between $100 and $200 each. Atlanta was sitting on at least 6,000 guns more than two years ago.
Atlanta has likely added two thousand more guns since then. Assuming $150 per gun, and eight thousand guns, that is $1.2 million dollars the city refuses to put in its general fund. The figure doesn’t include the cost of storing and securing the valuable property, or the cost of organizing a sale.
Three Democrat senators, Lester G Jackson from Savanna (top of post), Ed Harbison from Columbus (posing in front of the flag above), and Gail Davenport from Jonesboro (posiing in front of the flag below), have introduced legislation to allow police to destroy legal, valuable, guns. The legislation would repeal of the 2012 law.
It seems unlikely to pass. The legislature, losing patience with the scofflaw antics of Atlanta and other jurisdictions in Georgia, is more likely to amend the proposed legislation to add penalties for the officials who refuse to follow Georgia law.
That happened in Arizona.
Tucson City officials refused to follow a law requiring the sale of firearms. The legislature passed new legislation, that withheld state funds from the City until the City complied with the law. The City fought the law to the State Supreme Court, where they lost.
Cities are not above the law. They are not constitutionally separate entities who can choose what state laws to follow, and what state laws to violate.
Equally, when police violate the law, it sets a bad example and a bad precedent. What other laws can law enforcement violate or ignore when they have a difference of opinion with legislators?
Will Georgia legislators step up to the plate and stop the scofflaw cities in Georgia from wasting taxpayer resources? We will see in 2018.
©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included. Gun Watch
It’s kind of funny to me that, although I’ve lived for thirty years in far northern California where coyotes are common, I’ve heard them on occasion at the edge of town, but I’ve only seen one in the wild–along the coast 100 miles west. My daughter in Cleveland however has seen a number in the local parks along the river.
By 1850 the Industrial Revolution was in full swing — in New England, and almost exclusively in New England. Senators, Congressmen, Lobbyists and emerging corporate leaders from the northeastern states, along with democrat party members across the rest of the north, were working very hard to keep all the benefits for themselves. Restrictive trade laws, growing tarrifs on exported cotton, rice, and tobacco, coupled with extra taxes on goods manufactured everywhere EXCEPT the northeast, created extreme tensions between the northern and southern states. Add the majority (democrats) voting repeatedly to exclude southern states from economic development, while granting favored status to New England business, and the issue of states rights was a very sore point by 1858.
In an earlier senate campaign, the losing Republican candidate, Lincoln, was portrayed by the eventual winner, Sen. Douglas, as an abolitionist. (Though Lincoln actually insisted he was not.) When Lincoln became the nominee from the new, upstart, Republican Party, democrats assumed he was no threat and turned upon themselves in an internal battle for control of their party. Lincoln promised to work with democrats. Democrats claimed Lincoln would end slavery in an effort to get southern votes, but the democrats couldn’t agree on a candidate. All the south could see was oppression, taxes, and the threat that Lincoln with cooperation from New England democrats would destroy the southern states and force them into perpetual poverty. Slavery was NOT the cause of the War Between the States, it was the “last straw.” It is mentioned so much in southern speeches and in the new southern constitutions because it was the last thing left that the northern stateshad not yet stolen from them.
Even the leaders in the north knew this. Even after the war, as the leaders of the winning northern states tried to figure out what they had won, the New England power brokers tried to reestablish the old balance and their control. Only someone wanting to push an agenda, or someone totally brainwashed by such an agenda, would argue the war was about slavery. The war was about power, control, federalism, lobbyists and money.
Is there any way to stop people from buying/using illegal drugs?
Nope…bans do not work.
Laws are in place to do something AFTER the crime is over.
There is a death penalty/life in prison for murder…we still have over 10,000 per year.
People will find a way to get what they want…legally or not.
That goes for guns, drugs or whatever is in demand.
They should have passed a law banning criminal use of a bump fire stock that way someone inadvertently using a bump fire stock in a self defense shooting would not be facing life in prison for self defense.
How many of those guns were actually used in a real crime? How many were stolen by the cops? How many could be returned to their legitimate owners? That’s the only rational reason for serial numbers and sale’s receipts. No good reason for the cops to sell these guns, of course, but better than destroying them.
Nope…at least not until the Millennium. Next question?
Any info on the “failure” rate of NY, CA, NJ? I’ll be these progtard paradises would be as bad or lower.
w00t three of five 😉
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/10/tyler-kee/gun-review-smith-wesson-sd9-ve/
Bring back Tyler Kee… Bring back Tyler Kee…
(And his handsome pony…)
When are people going to learn.
It’s a ‘bright, sunny, day, until it ain’t.’ Proceed at your own peril.
Ain’t the free market wonderful. Dude has the same chance to flop as any other businessman.
smart guns can’t replace smart people.
Seems like a serious lack of SA to me.
Make the penalties for straw purchases and illegal sales so harsh that people will think twice. It’s a start.