Police intimidate gun owners from selling their guns. Picture from mlive.com.
Posted on 09/03/2012 4:42:38 AM PDT by marktwain
Rick Ector takes a back seat to no one in his advocacy for Second Amendment rights. His latest caper: staking out a Detroit gun buyback with some like-minded buddies across the street from St. Cecilia Catholic Church and offering to pay those who showed up more than the measly $25 to $100 being offered inside. They didn’t get many takers, though. That may have been due to the thin blue line of intimidation thrown up in the middle of the street by the cops . . .
Ector organized the “protest” for the same reasons we think buybacks are such a bad idea.
We want “to send the message that guns are not evil, despite what the government and police are saying,” Ector said “Guns do not cause crime; bad people cause crime.“There’s a lot of reasons (gun buybacks) are flat out wrong. For one, it’s not going to change anything with regards to violent crime in the city of Detroit; two, potentially you have criminals who are destroying evidence along with the Detroit Police Department.”
But the DPD wanted to make it clear – in no uncertain terms – that crossing the street to see what they could get for their firearm from Ector’s group was a bad idea.
Between the activists and residents awaiting to sell their unwanted guns, stood a row of five police in the center of the street.“The police are obviously putting a wall, a barricade, between us and the people who are in line,” Ector said. “It’s a form of intimidation.”
And anyone asking the cops about the legality of selling to another individual got this answer:
“It’s illegal for them to make a purchase,” said Detroit Police Sgt. Eren Stephens from inside the church. “They have to have a permit to do it. So if they’re caught, they’re going to be in trouble.
“If you’re on a public street, you have to have a permit to do it.”
We tried to verify that using our extensive Google-fu skills but they failed us. So we went directly to Rick. Here’s his side of the story.
In short, to buy a rifle or shotgun in Michigan is super simple – cash and carry. There are no registrations required for long guns. Of course, felons can’t buy, own, or possess a firearm. No one from our group fell into that class of people. For handguns a person needs either a Pistol Purchase Permit from their police department – which requires a background check and passing an exam OR a valid state of Michigan Concealed Pistol License and the completion of a Pistol Sales Record Form. No laws were broken at the event. Either the spokes(man) didn’t know the know which is not unbelievable or the reporter “wrote it wrong.”
Hmm. Either the cop didn’t know the law, he lied about it or a trained journalist made a boo-boo.
According to one report, the buyback took in 365 guns. But that’s down from 500 or more in the previous three. Rick’s still tallying how many guns his group took in. Stay tuned for the grand total.
Police intimidate gun owners from selling their guns. Picture from mlive.com.
Let me know when there’s a gun buyback program in the Lansing area. I have an old Savage SuperSingle Model 66 shotgun with a cracked aluminum receiver that I’d love to sell them.
Virg has been trying to get one started but last I knew he couldn’t find the money for it and the city won’t let him use city funds.
There are 2 other reasons that buybacks are a mistake for the police and property owners where the buybacks take place.
The individual who out of ignorance sells a $500 firearm for $100 may want revenge at some later date.
The collection plate maybe lighter because the individual feels they were deceived.
A voter may vote against an item on the ballot that benefits the police department for the same reason.
The gentleman who advises the firearm owner of the actual value of the firearm in advance of a buyback is doing the church/property owner and police a favor.
Same here. I got a old side by side that I can make look operational.
Put the cash to towards a new pistol.....
Organized crime — with or without a badge — doesn’t approve of citizens poaching their turf. The Detroit PD or the Mafia — who can tell the difference?
An alternative argument is that the unions don’t like nonunion groups doing their job better.
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