Officer Friendly will help you find guns you forgot about

[HankR]

This looks like a wonderful idea. Short on cash for the holidays, not sure how you're going to fun the kid's presents? Maybe you've got some guns laying around that you've forgotten about! If you lived in Wisconsin, "residents can request a visit by officers to inspect the home for any unknown guns that may be in the household ". How convenient. </sarcasm>

Police are here to help you find those pesky, misplaced firearms.

 

[LocoGringo]

What...an...idiot!

Did the gun just "sneak" into the house without the owner knowing? Is "gun violence" contagious like Ebola? There's something seriously wrong with that police chief.

Who's the one moron who called for the search and found the gun that they wanted to turn in anyway?

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

I don't know who would be more deserving of ridicule...

The public servant offering free home delivery of a potentially Kafkaesque experience or those who might take them up on it.


"Gee Chief, seems I had a gun around here somewhere, just can't seem to find it."

Ponder the liabilities were they to search, find nothing and then have an "accidental" or otherwise shooting occur in the home.

I wonder if they aren't angling towards disgruntled wives getting the firearms removed from the house when the husband's at work or something along those lines.

 

[Sam1911]

I see at least one ... quasi ... acceptable view on this.

As I wrote elsewhere: I imagine this is more aimed at offering a tool to parents/grandparents/guardians who are worried about the dangerous stuff their youngsters are getting into. I've heard of similar things with drugs.

Due to various unfortunate circumstances widowed Grandma has 1-? youths living in her house. Grandsons, nephews, assorted friends coming and going at all hours. Maybe not all appear to be growing into upstanding young men. Her preaching to them gets laughed off or a bit of lip service at most and she's not up to a physical confrontation with Jr. and/or his pals.

Now Grandma doesn't know cocaine from baking powder, and sure doesn't want to be messing with guns, but if she thinks really bad stuff is happening in and around her house she can call the local department and ask them to sweep the place. Probably doesn't really want to see Jr. end up in jail, but most likely prefers that to Jr. dead in a gang battle or drug deal gone bad -- and she wants that crap out of her house, period.

In such an instance, Grandma's probably about the only one that can call the po-po and get them busted without lethal reprisals to follow...usually.

 

[tomrkba]

Nope, there won't be any charges against the home owner for any guns found. I'm sure they 'promise'.

 

[ApacheCoTodd]

Nope, there won't be any charges against the home owner for any guns found. I'm sure they 'promise'.

Oh, the quagmire!

Nor will you be held accountable for "HHS"/welfare/Child Protective Services violations regarding children.

Nor narcotics

Nor animal control

Nor elder abuse

Nor... Nor...

 

[Sol]

I believe this guy rescinded this particular public service.

Anyways, I wish I was surprised by things like this, but I'm not.

 

[lxd55]

good call sam! or it could just be a parent that is scared of their child.

 

[Twiki357]

Now Grandma doesn't know cocaine from baking powder, and sure doesn't want to be messing with guns, but if she thinks really bad stuff is happening in and around her house she can call the local department and ask them to sweep the place. Probably doesn't really want to see Jr. end up in jail, but most likely prefers that to Jr. dead in a gang battle or drug deal gone bad -- and she wants that crap out of her house, period.

Oh yes all that baking powder, that must be cocaine for sale. Sorry Grandma durg dealers are subject to asset forfeiture so we’re going to have to take your house. By the way, does junior ever borrow your car? Yes, okay, we’ll have to take that too.

That worked out pretty good for getting that budget deficit down a little.

 

[RustyShackelford]

The sad part....

The really sad part of this media story is how the police chief feels justified with it & thinks it's okay.

We(the forum members & gun owners) need to post these types of stories.
The anti gunners & anti 2A crowd will keep this BS up if we don't speak out about it.

 

[rhinoh]

I lost a .38 snubbie for about a year- you can't imagine the amount of fretting over that!
It eventually turned up in a pocket on a pack we used to use for dog supplies when out and about...the darn Airweight is so light we never noticed it in the pack and due to CRS I don't even recall ever putting it there- glad I didn't go into any airports with that pack

I sure could have saved a lot of grief if I'd just known law enforcement would have come and found it for me!

 

[HankR]

Maybe it's a challenge?

Maybe it's like a reverse Easter egg hunt. Do your best to hide a couple of guns, then see if "the man" can find them. If he finds them, tell him you decided to keep the guns after all. Lather, rinse, repeat until you find the very best hiding places?

 

[Warp]

I lost a .38 snubbie for about a year- you can't imagine the amount of fretting over that!
It eventually turned up in a pocket on a pack we used to use for dog supplies when out and about...the darn Airweight is so light we never noticed it in the pack and due to CRS I don't even recall ever putting it there- glad I didn't go into any airports with that pack

I sure could have saved a lot of grief if I'd just known law enforcement would have come and found it for me!

Never ever take one of your bags as a carry-one for a commercial flight unless you actively empty and search the entire thing for prohibited items immediately beforehand.

(for me I learned this lesson when I pulled a box of ammo out of my carry on backpack while in the airport just before security, but your situation would apply too!)

 

[hi-tower]

I feel ashamed to even say that this is my home town and still have a lot of family that still live there. I am just glad I do not still live there. They have a lot of issues there and this is just another one of them.

 

[Spats McGee]

I'm not surprised to see that I'm not the first to think about the laws of unintended consequences will play out here for the homeowner who thinks this is a good idea:

Papa Joe: I have nothing to hide. Police, please come search my house.
Police: Great, we're on the way.
Police: Papa Joe, did you know that your grandson, who lives with you while he attends college, has a bunch of Ecstasy hidden in his room? Oh, and have you ever heard of asset forfeiture?

 

[AlexanderA]

Think of all the other embarrassing things the police will find when they search your house (and to find hidden guns, they will have to search very thoroughly). You'd have to be crazy to lay yourself open to something like this. I don't care who you are. We all have things we'd rather not become public. Could be perfectly innocent but could seem strange to others. For example, a grown man could have a collection of Barbie dolls....

 

[BSA1]

To shamelessly borrow from Daniel Boone quotes ... “I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks.”

I lost a SAA revolver with a 7 1/2" barrel (which is not a small handgun) in a room about 17' x 9' for at least a year. In fact that is one of the reasons I started cleaning out the mancave. I found the gun in the last month...in it's black zippered carrying bag...laying in plain view on a shelf at eye level...the whole time.

CRS ain't for sissies.

In regards to Sam1911 idea elderly abuse is a problem in this country and I have seen Grandparents take in worthless druggie Grandkids because they thought Mom and Dad were being too mean.

Another thought is it is a way to get firearms out of the house of a elderly parent / grandparent who should no longer have firearms (memory loss, etc.) but won't give them up and tell the kids how many and where they are. However elderly folks usually have a lot of respect for law enforcement.

 

[homatok]

Quote "However elderly folks usually have a lot of respect for law enforcement."

Respect? You bet!---Trust? Hell no!

 

[MachIVshooter]

As I wrote elsewhere: I imagine this is more aimed at offering a tool to parents/grandparents/guardians who are worried about the dangerous stuff their youngsters are getting into. I've heard of similar things with drugs.

Boy, that is not a can of worms you want to open. This ain't the good 'ol days where the deputy puts the fear of god in junior at the parent's behest; today, junior goes away in handcuffs, and if the parents are lucky enough to avoid being arrested themselves, they will still be drug through the mud with their kid, as they try to fend off felony charges that will haunt their child for life over a stupid teenage decision.

And this didn't just start, either. Back in '97 at the age of 15, my mom thought involving Johnny law would be a good idea when she suspected me of manufacturing weapons, didn't realize what would actually happen. I was fortunate in that it ended up being a deferred adjudication following a probation period, but I was charged with a class 2 misdemeanor for minor in possession of a handgun and a class 4 felony for the Estes D-size rocket engines I had used to make overgrown M-80s. Spent a few days locked up, and it cost both me and them quite a bit of time and money in lawyer fees and dealing with the courts. Everything ended up just fine, but they very much regretted their decision to not handle it in-house.

Moral of the story is, unless there is absolutely no other way, you DO NOT want to involve the authorities. Once they're in, that's it-it's no longer a family matter, and you have little to no control over the outcome.

 

[Sam1911]

Boy, that is not a can of worms you want to open.

Oh, absolutely not! But considering what the average person knows about the law and legal proceedings (especially poorly educated, low/fixed income, elderly inner city residents) the offer looks like a reasonable choice. This nice officer just wants to help make our city safer...

Sheriff Andy's just going to take away the big bad gun, sit Junior down for a little chat and maybe take the lad fishing and teach him how to bait a hook. Might even help him become a productive member of the local Boy Scout troop. Everything will turn out a-ok.

 

[Sol]

I found Aunt Bea to be more of the disciplinarian type.
I'm sure the sheriff will teach the kid all about fishing....expeditions.

From my experience, inner-city grandparents that raise their grandchildren are tough old birds. They may not be able to control the kids outside the house, but you better not give grandma no guff, she will lay a hurting on you and search your quarters if she thinks something is going on.

In my opinion, this tactic would be far more effective in a middle class suburb where people are generally busy-bodies and helicopter parents.

June: "Ward, we need to talk about the Beave and Wally."

Ward: "What did they do this time?"

June: "Well, I found a rap music CD in the Beaves room, Wally is talking funny and buying baggy clothes with his paper route money."

Ward: "I'll call Sheriff Norm to search their rooms, he will give them a stern talking to. I sure hope those rascals aren't getting into anything serious."

June: "Oh Ward, your sooo sensible, I sure hate metting out punishments to our little snowflakes and being in control in my own home. It's better to have agents of the state doing it for us."

Ward: "Well June, it's for the children."

 

[rcmodel]

Wonder if they send in a crew to put all the underwear back in the dresser drawers and the mattress's back on the beds after they Toss the Place???

rc

 

[Sunray]

Can you voluntarily give up your rights in Wisconsin?

 

[LocoGringo]

Can you voluntarily give up your rights in Wisconsin?

What rights are you referring to? If you're talking about Bill of Rights #4 (search and seizure), this is a voluntary search, so anything the police find is absolutely legal and can be prosecuted. If you're talking about BOR #2, again, everything is voluntary.

Just noticed you're in Canada...

 

[jlr1962]

How many people invited them into their homes? See what breathing freezing cold air for months on end will do to ya.