Crime gun
Part of the reason trace data should be taken with a grain of salt:
“Officer, I am carrying a firearm in compliance with North Carolina law.” So began my exchange during a traffic stop. (Sorry, I have a lead foot.) He replied, “May I have it, sir?” Since this was before I knew enough to say “no,” I complied. The officer then took my gun to his car, traced it and, finding nothing amiss, returned it to me. MAIG’s report would have you believe my gun is a “crime gun” because it would be included in the gun trace reports on which its study is based.
Therein lies the scam: Although gun control advocates call gun tracing a measure of crime, traced guns are not necessarily “crime guns.” Says the Congressional Research Service: “Trace requests are not accurate indicators of specified crimes…traces may be requested for a variety of reasons not necessarily related to criminal incidents.” Indeed, BATFE encourages police to trace all guns encountered.
I have a few crime guns myself
January 28th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
It’s sad, but I think the correct answer to any request from an LEO these days requires that we answer no. A lawful command is something different of course, but if they use words like “may I” and “would you mind” they are asking you to waive your fourth and fifth amendment rights. Warrants are not accompanied by requests no matter how polite the request is.
January 28th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
My CCH instructor told me that the proper answer in NC is: “My lawyer has advised me that this would not be a safe situation for either of us.” Face it, the cop is not familiar with your weapon and is just as likely to shoot himself or you when he tries to unload it.
And if you’re headed into a traffic stop, hitting the record button on your PDA is a good idea these days. Just don’t let anyone know until it becomes a big deal.
January 29th, 2009 at 11:57 pm
I’d like to have a crime gun or two- ‘war crime’ guns like a nice Luger or P-38, or even ‘crimes against humanity’ guns like a Tokarev, PPSh, or milled AK-47. All unpapered, of course 😀
Which would probably make me a criminal, as well. (sigh)