Quote:
Originally Posted by Oberon
For example, a policeman patrolling a street in a random American city spots a stereotypical gang-banger style youth walking along with a Browning tucked into his sagging pants, he stops the car, gets out with his pistol pointed at the gangbanger (and his camera switched on) and asks him to show him his firearms license. The gangbanger will either do so or state that he doesn't have one/the dog ate it/it's at home (etc) in which case the police officer would have the ability to confiscate the pistol because it was improperly holstered and carried without a presentable license. If that gangbanger wants his gun back then he's got to show his license, and even then he will get a citation and/or his gun rights confiscated (for a permanent or temporary amount of time) for improper holstering of a firearm. Chances are though that he'll just forget it and go get another pistol, and then there's the chance that the cop will pick him up with that pistol and we go through the process again. The cops will get quite a collection of pistols and they could probably give them back to the company that manufactured them for re-selling as required, or get them melted down and profit from the scrap value. Either which way, for a short amount of time, the gang-banger loses his firearm. Alternatively he draws on the officer and the officer and the other officer patrolling with him take him down. Either which way the problem is fixed, either permanently or temporary.
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I don't know if you realize it but that would be a significant lowering of the standards as they are now. This is how that scenario would go presently in almost every big city in the country:
Cop sees gang banger with a pistol in his waist band. Cop calls for backup (and maybe SWAT too). When backup arrives they accost the gang banger with guns drawn commanding him to drop to the ground and spread eagle. Any hesitation on the gang bangers part and the cops open fire killing or incapacitating him (and probably several bystanders too) in a hail of 9mm bullets.
If the banger instantly complies or lives through the barrage of gunfire they charge him with carrying an illegal weapon (and resisting arrest), the gun is confiscated and eventually either melted down along with a bunch of others in a big media event or "appropriated" by the cops. The gang banger is then imprisoned until his court date on the above charges and he gets either a lengthy jail sentence or he rats on somebody else and gets the charges dismissed or significantly lowered.
If the gang banger does actually have a license (highly unlikely since getting gun permits in the city is almost impossible for the non politically connected) the cops are quickly cleared of wrongdoing (perhaps aided by the convenient discovery of a little pot or coke on him) then his family or him (once he gets out of the hospital) sues the city for a bucket full of money.
Either way he ain't getting the gun back without spending an awful lot of money for lawyers and even then it'll take months if not years for anything to happen.