Free Republic

In a strange twist of emotional symbolism over reason, Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers and Councilman Charles Vierhout voted against the required sale of valuable property to raise money for the police and city of Avondale. State law requires that confiscated or forfeited firearms be sold, rather than destroyed in a ritual comparable to the medieval concept of the Deodand, where objects could be considered to be guilty of crimes. The police department has about 1,000 firearms that have been confiscated or surrendered, and they are running out of room. As demand for firearms is currently high, this is an especially...

Proposed Deodand Pistol, suggested retail, $74.99, a considerable savings over current “buyback” or turn in prices. The presidential push for gun bans has reinvigorated the medieval practice of labeling objects as guilty deodands with gun “buybacks” or turn ins. Organizers of the turn in events typically insist that the guns be destroyed rather than sold do individuals or dealers to provided needed resources to police departments and to reduce demands on taxpayers. In response to increased demand, gun manufacturers would do well to consider producing special “deodand” or “turn in” models. These could satisfy the demand for ceremonial destruction...