Gun collector visited by Waterbury police

The Waterbury Republican-American ^ | 12-10-2004 | Ben Conery

[SASsySIGster]

WATERBURY -- It never dawned on William Bechard that the two old Smith & Wesson revolvers he found for sale earlier this year in the Bargain News would get him arrested.

The classified advertisement newspaper led Bechard, 52, to a man in Hartford who was selling a .32-caliber revolver and a .38-caliber revolver. Bechard, of Waterbury, is an avid gun collector and trader who owns nearly 100 rifles and handguns, nearly all of them more than 50 years old.

Bechard said he bought the two revolvers in April for about $300.

The man Bechard bought the guns from called about a week later and said Bechard needed to contact the State Police to transfer the guns' registrations. Bechard recalled Thursday night that he called the State Police to do so, but it didn't have a record of the two guns.

Guns made before the late 1890s are considered antiques and don't have to be registered. Believing the guns were antiques, Bechard said he didn't give the matter a second thought until Thursday morning. Two State Police detectives knocked on his door Thursday around 7:30 a.m., Bechard said. They were there to arrest him for illegal transfer of a handgun.

"I said, 'I'm a law-abiding citizen,'" Bechard said. "They said, 'Well, now you're not.'"

State Police spokesman Sgt. J. Paul Vance said Thursday that Bechard was arrested because the guns remained registered to the man Bechard bought them from. Bechard said State Police told him Thursday they have no record of him calling about the registrations.

The police, according to Bechard, said one of the guns was made in 1902 and the other in 1903, which would mean they are not antiques and would have to be registered. Bechard, a federally licensed gun collector, said his library of gun catalogs strongly disputes that; he is certain they are antiques.

Bechard faces two counts of illegal transfer of a firearm, a felony, and up to 10 years in prison if convicted of both charges.

"The significance is these weapons, and all weapons, sold within the boundaries of the state of Connecticut must be registered," Vance said. "It's a matter of finishing the paper work, that's what is."

Bechard was released on $5,000 bond and is scheduled to appear in Hartford Superior Court on Dec. 29.

"I didn't think I was doing anything illegal," said Bechard, who has not decided yet whether he will hire a lawyer for his court appearance.

Bechard said he's already sold the two guns to people out of state. He has a federal license to sell what are known as curios and relic firearms, which are on a list of specific guns that are at least 50 years old.

The license allows him to buy and sell curios and relic firearms with people in different states, as long as they exchange copies of their licenses. They don't have to register the guns with either the federal or state governments.

This further confused Bechard because in Connecticut the transfer of such guns would have to be registered.

"I thought my federal license would cover it," he said.

Bechard has a passion for old weapons. In his house, a room no more than three paces wide -- protected by two dead bolts and pepper spray rigged to trip wire -- contains an arsenal of history. He has a rifle used in the Civil War and an ivory-handled Colt.45 Peacemaker, the same model used by famed outlaw Jesse James.

He worked most recently as a dispatcher for a moving company in Bridgeport. But Bechard said he also makes a few dollars selling antique weapons, military uniforms and other historical items on the Internet.

[Nakota]

The authorities in this state didn't want to work things out. They wanted to make an example of him. They same way they prosecute a citizen who defends himself with an unregistered firearm. Owning a firearm is, to them, the greater crime.

[RetiredArmy]

It was never on mine.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

"This just goes to show that if the government makes enough laws they're bound to trip you up some day."

Always remember folks, once they have destroyed the 2nd as null and void, they are then prime to destroy all the bill of rights.

Slippery slope ping.

[Little Ray]

You mean stolen, doncha?

[Mr. Lucky]

Step 1 would be to take your toothbrush to a felony trial if you haven't hired a lawyer.

[AdamSelene235]

protected by two dead bolts and pepper spray rigged to trip wire -- contains an arsenal of history. Then suddenly he transformed from a collector to a certified Gun Nut. Is it normal for people to booby trap their collections? I know mine isn't.

Why not? A non-lethal pepper spray grenade will deny a thief access to a room for a while.

[Boot Hill]

8	“Bechard faces two counts of illegal transfer of a firearm, a felony, and up to 10 years in prison if convicted of both charges. Bechard...has not decided yet whether he will hire a lawyer for his court appearance. ”

You've got to be kidding!

--Boot Hill

[Modernman]

They should have used common sense discretion after checking this law abiding collector out. Unfortunately, only illegal aliens get the nod from our government.

Rather than wasting the time of two cops to go arrest this guy and then have to waste even more public resources on a trial, the solution in a sane world would have been a 30 second phone call to this guy to remind him to fill out the paperwork.

Common sense is dead in our society.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Did they confiscate his collection?

[Revelation 911]

and they would most likely be destroyed.

fix your head - there would be a poorly publicized auction attended by off duty officers

[SASsySIGster]

I don't know any more about the story than what the article said. I'm not sure whether they confiscated his collection.

As far as the pepperspray booby trap, who knows why he did that. We have a law in this state about firearms being locked up, this could be his way of ensuring they are secure. I thought it was a bit strange, but kinda cool at the same time.

[pop-aye]

"Bechard has a passion for old weapons. In his house, a room no more than three paces wide -- protected by two dead bolts and pepper spray rigged to trip wire -- contains an arsenal of history.

Then suddenly he transformed from a collector to a certified Gun Nut. Is it normal for people to booby trap their collections? I know mine isn't."

I don't know about your collection, or what you consider your collection. The article doesn't go into a large amount of detail about the number or ages of the weapons he had in his "arsenal" (lib speak for a lot of mean nasty guns). My general impression was that he has a large collection of antique guns. Even with the small amount of description I would have no problem making the assumption that the guns probably have a very high dollar value.

This man doesn't sound like he is rich by any means, but has a passion for historical weapons. His Civil War rifle and his 45 Peacemaker alone are worth (depending on condition) a small mint. The guns probably have no value to a gang-banger, but to a collector they are treasures. While you might protect your treasures with an electronic monitoring system or alarm, he chose another cost effective way to discourage and potentially mark (dye) potential thieves.

His protection of his property with nonlethal measures certainly does not make him a "nut." You do not share his passion for weapons, that is not a indictment on your sanity either.

The truth is that the law and the enforcement of it are contrary to the 2nd Amendment. "Not Infringed" is fairly clear. Registration is infringement, arrest for failure is infringement.

[B4Ranch]

Do you care enough to actually stand up?

[supercat]

Rather than wasting the time of two cops to go arrest this guy and then have to waste even more public resources on a trial, the solution in a sane world would have been a 30 second phone call to this guy to remind him to fill out the paperwork.

Yes, but then they wouldn't be able to boast about getting 100+ evilnastyguns off the streets.

You see, there are two ways the government can get evilnastyguns off the streets:

1. Steal them from law-abiding citizens.
2. Take them from crooks.

If your quota requires getting 100 evilnastyguns "off the streets", which of those options seems safer and more appealing to you?

[supercat]

I wish we could get a constitutional amendment passed as follows: "(1) A well-armed citizenry being necessary to the security of a free state and nation, the definition of treason is hereby extended to include action that would interfere with any free citizen's right to purchase, acquire, posses, transport, carry, sell, and otherwise have any firearms or other weapons suitable for individual or collective defense except as defined herein; (2) in any criminal trial, a defendant shall have the right to demand that a jury by given a copy of this amendment and along with the following instructions: 'Nowithstanding any other law or ordinance, juries are instructed not to issue any verdict which would interfere with a citizen's rights as defined in the __ Amendment, except that a jury may impose a punishment which would restrict such rights if the jury finds that the defendant committed crimes meeting the necessary criteria listed therein'; (3) The definition of treason is further extended to include any prosecutor or judge who fails to either supply the required materials to a jury without prompting or inform the defendant of his right to have them read, or who fails to supply such materials to a jury upon defendant's request; (4) In any trial for murder, assault, battery, or other such crime, in any state or federal court, it shall be an affirmative defense that the victim of such crime had committed treason as defined under this section." I would then list specific exceptions for people who are in jail or prison, people visiting certain secure facilities, people who have been convicted of certain crimes and where the judge or jury made disarmament part of the sentence, etc.

I'm sure some liberal judge would still manage to misconstrue that, but perhaps it might stick. Of course, the odds of such a thing ever passing are nil, but it's nice to dream...

[E. Pluribus Unum]

"It's a matter of finishing the paper work, that's what is."

Spoken like a smarmy, mindless, government-dependent bureaucrat.

[Travis McGee]

To the agents of the state, there is no such thing as a good private firearm. Any firearm owner who can be beaten into submission and disarmed, preferably jailed and bankrupted, represents a victory for the state.

[Travis McGee]

Roger that. This guy needs a 2A lawyer pronto.

[TC Rider]

Should be a simple matter to visit S&W and authenticate the manufacture date of the two weapons.

[Squantos]

DAMN !

Doom on all these picky paperwork pricks !

It's too late to work within the system, but too early to shoot the bastards.". -
Claire Wolfe

Stay safe ......