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Guns
Newark Mayor Cory Booker: Turn in Gun Owner, Get $1,000
The Mayor of Newark, New Jersey is making an offer he hopes city residents cannot refuse -- report your gun-owning neighbor, get $1,000.
In a video, Mayor Cory Booker holds ten $100 bills as he explains how the new program works. People just have to anonymously call a number to report someone with an illegal gun and they get the dough.
Here is the video:
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Comments
I have a question - the
I have a question - the article says "have to anonymously call a number to report someone with an illegal gun and they get the dough" - but if they make the report anonymously, how do they collect the $1000?
He should offer $1000 a piece
He should offer $1000 a piece for a gun buy back program. I have a few junkers I'll take to New Jersey to sell for that price, then he can say he got them off the street, and we'll all be safer.
I agree that guns illegally
I agree that guns illegally obtained should be taken away. However, how does the person reporting it know it's illegal?
In the first six seconds, you see this isn't about saving lives. It's about getting rid of guns altogether! That says, to me at least, that as long as someone in Newark reports a gun, the police will come and grab it (even if it's legally obtained, stored, etc.), and try the owner, costing them significant monetary and character damage.
This is fear mongering with a reward. Scare people instead of educate them.
As other posters have pointed
As other posters have pointed out, CCW laws in NJ are highly restrictive. If someone wearing gang colors is walking the street carrying a 9MM in his belt, it is unlikely this individual passed NJ's high standard for a CCW permit.
This is Newark - high crime, high violence, high density, and very little support for legal CCW.
So... the mayor may be anti-gun, but he is right that most guns on the street in Newark are probably carried illegally.
Heller makes it impossible for NJ to ban guns. Heller was spurred by DC which had a complete ban, which was overturned as unconstitutional in Heller. Unless the constitution is amended, it is every citizen's right to own guns. CCW is a totally different matter, and it will probably take are few more cases to sort that out.
The gun is not illegal. An
The gun is not illegal. An unqualified person may be in criminal possession of a firearm, but the gun is still legal. Mislabeling a legal firearm as an illegal gun is a propaganda tool of the anti-gunners used to cast fear towards all gun owners.
Silly semantics.... an
Silly semantics.... an illegally owned weapon is still a crime. It is like saying a stolen car is not "illegal" only the person who stole it. When people say "illegal guns," they still mean that the person in possession of the gun either purchased it illegally, stole it, or is not legally allowed to carry it in public.
Anonymous tipster lines work. In most cases, people who are carrying guns illegally are convicted criminals with prior felonies that bar them from owning or at least carrying a weapon.
Why would any responsible gun owner be concerned with a campaign to target criminals carrying guns illegally??? If you have a legitimate CCW, you have been through a safety course and a background check and this program doesn't apply to you.
It may well be "silly
It may well be "silly semantics" but it is propaganda. Your own example proves my point. The news doesn't report that an illegal car was found -- they say a stolen car was recovered. Words have meaning.
Anonymous tipsters waste time and money -- tax dollars. This a flawed "campaign" is not focus enough to only target felons; and, the defendant is supposed to be able face his accuser. I know the pesky civil rights...
"Face your accuser" means
"Face your accuser" means facing the person behind the charges. For example a person claiming rape or a person claiming they were robbed would have to be made a available to someone charged with a crime. An anonymous tipster is not the victim. The police would still have to observe the accused individual and have just cause for arrest. The fourth amendment is not suspended based on an anonymous tip.
You can spend a few minutes on google yourself. It appears that most organizations find anonymous tip lines to be a very effective means of enforcement.
It's profiling, who's to say
It's profiling, who's to say that they the police, or Government won't take the serial number and start a data base on them, which is illegal. Plus how would they know if the gun is illegal? The only way would be that they are close friend or family member, crooks don't turn in crooks, they want to keep a low profile.
Actually, handgun
Actually, handgun registration is required in most states, and it is legal/constitutional. See the law in Michigan:
http://www.michigan.gov/msp/0,4643,7-123-1591_3503_4654-225113--,00.html
Any handgun from out of state must be registered as well when becoming a Michigan resident. Attempts to overturn this law in the courts have not succeeded.
Again, who cares! Close to 40% of US homes own guns. Registering a weapon is a drop in a multi-million record database. Since the Heller case became reality, there is not much the state can do to prevent legal ownership by otherwise competent law abiding citizens.
Wait .. what? Most states DO
Wait .. what?
Most states DO NOT require registration.
Oops.. you're right. 14
Oops.. you're right. 14 states plus the district of Columbia through licensing or direct registration require some sort of tracking on handguns.
http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=74
Registration is required, not
Registration is required, not tracking. I'm glad I don't live in a nanny state.
New Jersey refuses to issue
New Jersey refuses to issue concealed carry permits to ordinary folks, so the only way otherwise law-abiding folks can exercise their rights is to do so in defiance of state law. Until and unless their policy changes, I don't think their law enforcement has the moral credibility to enjoy our cooperation.
If you disagree, start a
If you disagree, start a campaign to change it. CCW laws depend on state law. The national CCW reciprocity law currently in committee might change this too, but it is unlikely that will get past Obama and it could die in the Senate.
If the citizens of NJ want to liberalize the NJ CCW laws, it is certainly within their rights to do so. Many states have liberalized their CCW laws via referendum.
The people in law enforcement did not write the laws. Not cooperating with police in reasonable investigations is shooting yourself in the foot. When police overstep their bounds, all bets are off. In my several decades walking the earth, I haven't had a bad experience with the police, but I am white and live in a relatively safe suburb too.
Again, why wouldn't you report a criminal walking around with a gun? If you live in Newark, which is a typical high crime high density city, then it is likely that law abiding citizens see criminals carrying guns. An anonymous tip could be one less mugger walking the streets.
I _might_ report a criminal
I _might_ report a criminal with a gun in New Jersey -- if I thought he was likely to harm someone I personally cared about. But in general, any such criminal in a state such as New Jersey is much more likely to attack someone who supports their infringement of the right to keep and bear arms than one who opposes it. I certainly don't want to be an enabler of their behavior.
You raise a good point in that the laws are not the cops' fault. But if the police spokesmen took a stand in favor of the laws that infringe my rights, I would be receptive to safe, legal ways of getting payback. (For example, if a cop was involved in a controversial shooting, I would oppose giving him the benefit of the doubt -- on the grounds that police who hold even _my_ civil rights in contempt certainly cannot be trusted to respect the civil rights of minorities. I would tell the cops that if they're going to pander to the Left on the gun control issue, then when they're looking for public support they can seek it from the Left for all I care.)
I am so glad I don't live in
I am so glad I don't live in new jersey anymore. Nobody there can read.