No Question About it: Rocket Launchers Turned in for L.A. Gun Amnesty Raise Eyebrows

Gun buyback program collects thousands of civilian and military weapons

When Los Angeles held a no-questions-asked gun buyback program Wednesday, it turned up some pretty curious items. Two rocket launchers and 75 assault weapons were dropped off among thousands of firearms in return for Ralph's supermarket gift cards.

Talk about turning swords into plowshares.

"Those are weapons of war, weapons of death," Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck said to the Los Angeles Times. "These are not hunting guns. These are not target guns. These are made to put high-velocity, extremely deadly, long-range rounds downrange as quickly as possible, and they have no place in our great city."

Los Angeles officials collected a total of 2,037 firearms, which was 400 more than the program they held earlier this year. The weapons will not be checked for connections to crimes before being melted down.

The gun buyback was moved up from its Mother's Day date in response to the recent mass-shooting at a Newtown, Conn., elementary school that left 28 people dead, including 20 small children, the article said.

Via Los Angeles Times

Do You Think Gun Buyback Programs Help Keep Us Safer?

[Malitia_Man]

ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ

[thejimbo]

Translation: "Come and take them."

[Malitia_Man]

“Among the many misdeeds of British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms as the blackest.”– Mohandas Gandhi, an Autobiography, page 446.

[Nat]

Only honest people turn in weapons. This leaves the criminals with all the weapons. It does not take weapons out of criminal hands. It just leaves non-criminals defenseless.

[poetaster]

honest people with rocket launchers.

[Malitia_Man]

@Nat

That's what the hypocrites want!!! Disarm law abiding citizens, leave criminals armed, & install a police state to keep you "safe"!

The hypocrites want to disarm you, and let your children be slaughtered in gun free zones, yet they are able to have armed guards with them and their children at their schools at all times!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch...

III%

[Rocker]

Well, I'm all for keeping the rocket launchers off the street.

[talkenhed]

What no Stinger missiles turned in??I guess you don't have to register them

[thejimbo]

To quote a comment made on the LA Times website:

"The yellow band around the weapon means it is a training tool. It is not a rocket launcher. It fires a 9mm pistol round so boot camp recruits can practise fireing at targets. I'll bet you the words trainer are written on the launcher somewhere. This is no more than a 9MM handgun that fires only one round at a time with a big covering."

Media hype strikes again!

[thejimbo]

@jamesmitchell spellcheck: "practice firing"

[PoliticalSpice]

@jamesmitchell That makes sense, after all, what idiot would turn in a rocket launcher, when they could keep it. Byw, where do you get the ammo, i don't suppose your average sporting store keeps rockets in stock! LOL

[truthsayer]

@jamesmitchell Great observation James I totally missed the markings on the AT4.

[kirbstomp1]

Does the Pope keep kids safe from priest?.....same answer

[woodtick57]

No, he knowingly put pedophiles in parishes to oversee their children without telling those people...nice pope!

[kirbstomp1]

@woodtick57 - lol I know, just had to make a joke

[Warrior_Judge]

What about the protestant preachers who molest kids?? What about the Mormons who practice polygamy and take 13 year old brides?? This Pope had nothing to do with what happened 30 years ago. And back then ALL religious clergy in over 30 states were exempt from reporting the crimes. They had a moral obligation to report it, but not a legal one.
What does this have to do with the fact that there are some wackerloons running around L.A. with rocket launchers??

[kirbstomp1]

@Warrior_Judge - lol what's your point I just chose to pick on the catholics rather than someone else. It's my right. If you read the articles question I answered it with a question and said same answer. Why are you being so critical as it says on my second comment it is a joke.

[Warrior_Judge]

@kirbstomp1
Ahhh, gotcha. Sorry about that. Been sick most of the week and my sense of humor isn't what it usually is.

[bsking]

no going back to buy back programs do not keep anyone safer.. in fact you watch now as comrade Cuomo in New York will have his buyback program and with the help of the local media ,thieves and crackheads know where they can steal a whole bunch of guns now thanks to the treasure map posted this week.

[Coolvoter]

Most criminals would AVOID houses with guns, making the gun houses the only safe place.
Again your wrong in your ignorance

[thejimbo]

Comrade Cuomo? I thought the liberals in your state were chopping him up like salami.

[martydotcom]

@bsking Define how a gun keeps you safer. I am quoting Fox New commentators from yesterday. They felt the treasure map was a welcome service to the community.
The number of home intrusions stopped by a gun owner protecting his home in Westchester County last year was virtually nil. I'm quoting from Fox, fair and balanced NYC based commentators, Of gun related accidental death, death from domestic fights, death from suicide in gun owners homes more likely to occur than in homes where guns were not present @20:1 ratio. Duhh??? That's kind of obvious!
The second leading cause of accidental death under age 18 (drinking/driving #1) gun shot. Fox's commentator's issues were: do you want your child play in a neighbors home or do you want to live next door to where they may have a stash of weapons. You. as a neighbor, would never know and you'd have no idea how safely they were secured in the home. The gun in the nightstand becomes a 10 year old kids toy when Mom's on the phone or not watching
Westchester a suburban NYC wealthy county with a more than adequate police staff both in local communities and country level crack head, meth type and thieves are not a major problem

Headline 1214 FYI Westchester a county of 450 sq miles and nearly 1 mil. people. Mt Vernon is closest thing to a getto that exists in the cty. A year's work revealed 9 dealers and 3rd deg is not even major weight.

"Nine people have been arrested after an investigation into street level drug sales, police said today. County and state authorities conducted investigation relating to drug trafficking in Mount Vernon which began early this year. This investigation was conducted by the Westchester County District Attorney's office.
All nine suspects were charged with third-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, a felony.

[PoliticalSpice]

@jamesmitchell the cuomo name is considered liberal, but watching what he has been doing, he's not all that liberal, more a moderate then anything else.

[bsking]

@jamesmitchell my former state... thing about New York liberals tho you can't gauge anything like that on how they attack each other... it's only because there are no Republicans to attack. it's more like sparring

[Republican5001]

No questions asked and now they are checking to see if crimes were committed in association with the rocket launchers? Shouldn't they have been doing that anyways?

[kirbstomp1]

It clearly says they are not checking in the article

[woodtick57]

I'm thinking they might, at least they should, already know if someone fired off a rocket launcher in their city....

[Republican5001]

@kirbstomp1 sorry misread it. No redbull yet.

[kirbstomp1]

@Republican5001 - yea I gotta go get 2 12 oz cans before I start my day right lol

[TrueAtheist]

@kirbstomp1 @Republican5001 That stuff is dangerous. It's your choice but might I suggest some good old fashioned coffee? Hell I would even say some low doses of certain prescription ADHD meds would be a better choice. Like Ritalin or Concerta.

[Republican5001]

Couldn't ANY weapon be used for war or death and not just rocket launchers?

[AceLuby]

The point is that this is the only thing these weapons are used for.

[Zazziness]

@AceLuby That's right. Unless Wolfgang Puck has decided to use rocket launchers to pound out pizza dough, which I doubt.

[Republican5001]

@Zazziness that would be an interesting way to make dough. Roll in a ball then have to go find all the pieces.

[Zazziness]

@Republican5001 He could definitely claim it had been "tenderized."

[PoliticalSpice]

I see you are training well :)

[MarkJM]

Talk about turning swords into plowshares. Were these weapons that were used in the commission of a crime? If so, then this was a good idea. However, if it's law-abiding citizens simply just giving up their firearms, then it is a bad idea. In fairness, I will say the rocket launchers are a bit much (even for a registered firearms owner such as myself).

[st-louie12]

All those guns that are turned in through the buy back programs are supposed to be destroyed. I BET! just like the M1 Garand in the picture. besides being a highly sought after collector's piece. Depending the date and condition could be worth a cool 2k's maybe more. More like it's going home with the Police Chief or other high up in the cop force. Remember, Cops likes guns too!

[MarkJM]

@st-louie12 Those classic rifles like the Garand you mentioned, I'm willing to bet they are going home with some officer. No way are they being destroyed.

[texas_cutie75]

This is gonna open a can of worms, but I'd love to fire a rocket launcher, not sure I'd want to own one.

[PoliticalSpice]

Go for it, I kinda thought that type of thing was standard issue in Texas :)

[hankf68]

@PoliticalSpice ...lol

[hankf68]

@hankf68 ...btw Texan cutie, my daughters live in Texas and would agree ;)

[PoliticalSpice]

@hankf68 Your a good dad, trying to keep guys from feeling too safe takinf liberties with your daughters :)

[hankf68]

@PoliticalSpice ...thx, they are truly Texan's, beware...:)

[AceLuby]

It's a nice gesture, but will do nothing in the end. I just wish we could have a serious debate about some of these things and look at some of the successful countries that do some of these things better than us to see if we can adopt some of their strategies. This would be good for healthcare, gun control, education, and a host of other things where we are no longer #1 in, which is pretty much everything except military spending and % of people in jail.

[mtkopf]

No matter how successful a program is in another country it will never work here until we get special interest groups and lobbyists out of the lawmaking process. Until groups like the NRA and big pharma stop u$ing their influen$e$ to dictate policy in our country any attempt to duplicate another country's successes will fall short. I hate to be pessimistic but if I can quote @jessejaymes:
"Follow the money. Always follow the money"

[AceLuby]

@mtkopf The successful countries don't have lobbyists... so I think we're in agreement. I've wanted lobbyists out of DC ever since I learned what they do in high school. It never made sense why we still allow this.

[mtkopf]

@AceLuby the problem is WE can't do anything about the lobbyists. The only ppl who can outlaw them are the ones who are directly benefitting from them.
"Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

[jessejaymes]

@mtkopf California has a law that says if you use a gun in the commission of a crime that 5 years is added to the sentence. I think that law should be everywhere but raised to 20 years. That might slow them down a bit.

[mtkopf]

@jessejaymes I think I saw that NY has a law similar to that and NY has one of the lowest rates of gun deaths in the country. The problem is that gun nuts, like the NRA, refuse to acknowledge ANY stats concerning guns. Even that weenie Grover Norquist, an NRA board member on Sunday when shown statssaying some laws work, still pointed to cChicago.
I can tell you what the problem is in Chicago that I have been saying since New town: Indiana has very lax gun laws. My whole scenario was proven correct when 2 ppl were arrested for buying a lot of weapons at Indiana gun shows and reselling them to gangbangers in the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago. Which, if you don'tknow eEnglewood, I will tell you that it is one of the toughest if not the worst neighborhood in Chicago.
Why do the tough gun laws work in NY? Because the surrounding states have tough gun laws.
Somewhere I lost my whole point. Btw I do not consider you a gun nut.
Oh maybe taking the whole gun control issue away from states and nationalizing the laws would help. I'm talking about a federal gun license, no gun show loophole, mandatory reporting of all lost stolen and sold guns.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

I'm ignorant, so sayeth the vast majority of enlightened leftists around here. So might one of you really smart left leaning posters explain to me how rocket launchers are illegal but people are still in possession of them? Seems like gun control laws didn't prevent rocket launchers from getting into the wrong hands.

[woodtick57]

Oh, lots of us conservative think tha also....

all of our rights are regulated to some degree. the idea that rocket launchers and machine guns should be legal to public is beyond the pale....

[NormalFlora]

Wow, you really never did serve in the military. After Desert Storm, there was such a push to "get the troops home" that Conex boxes were not adequately checked for contents. So some supply gunny decides he wants to bring back a "souvenir" that his wife just wants him to get rid of. Well, along comes the buy back program. Problem solved.

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

@woodtick57 - I agree they should not be legal. However, being illegal did not keep these rocket launchers out of the wrong hands. Should we expand gun control when this example proves it doesn't work?

[Libertyiskey]

@Neo_NtheMatrix I am in complete agreement with you, but just wondering if you think the same thing about drug laws?

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

@NormalFlora - Oh, so this is just some happy ex-military people deciding to turn in souvenirs that their wives want out of the house? Somehow I'm not buying that. Got any proof of this assertion? And why didn't the article mention that possibility, if this example is so harmless?

[GeeBob69]

A rocket launcher without any rockets is just a large hunk of useless plastic. It was probably a left over movie prop that someone came across but it makes for sensationalism in the press so there you go

[Your_Name_Here]

It does give them crack money so they don't have to go out and kill each other or rob stores for a day or so. It's really a joke because we pay taxes to eliminate this element of society and it doesn't work so we implement these token programs to get good publicity. People who know guns and the mentality behind these people know that these guns are pretty much worthless in the street and/ or were stolen from the last break-in. Even your typical no brain crackhead knows enough not to go walking down the street with a goose gun for his next robbery. What the police need to do is partner up with the National Guard and take the real guns from the real criminals. That would get my vote.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

"Gun buybacks" are yet another failed liberal program that merely gives some folks money for more drugs...and lines the pockets of those selling the drugs.

Meanwhile, is it not already illegal for a civilian to own a rocket launcher? Guess the 'law' didn't keep some folks from getting that 'highly restricted' weapon, eh?

Hmmm...

[Neo_NtheMatrix]

I got word from the liberal base that those rocket launchers are just merely souvenirs that were brought home from previous wars and the wives of the soldiers demanding their husbands get rid of them. LOL.

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@Neo_NtheMatrix Guess eBay has some policy...lol. I'd love to get one of those rocket/grenade launchers to add to the mix. Would make a great addition to the 'northern' front.(!)

[TrueAtheist]

Whether you agree with the buy back program or not you really should tske the time to read the article before you make random statements. They didn't give out cash. They gave out gift cards to Ralphs supermarket. So I don't see how they were giving out money to buy drugs.

[PoliticalSpice]

Let me ask you this, assuming they were giving money to buy drugs, which would you prefer, a paranoid crackhead running around with a rocket launcher, or a crackhead without one?

[Jeff_Woehrle]

@TrueAtheist You're right! Gift cards can never be sold for cash.

[KyleMFb]

Ugh yes gun buy back programs work very good it would work even better if their were more money involved people who say they don't work are stupid idiots and only saying that bc they do t want their 2nd molested

[jessejaymes]

It may not do a lot of good but in the case of a rocket launcher? I gotta figure getting that off the streets is a good thing.

[Sharpshooter]

NOW we have a photo that is actually appropriate. Best yet is that it was unintentional.

Proof that cops know as much about guns as a cab driver knows about automotive engineering.

The big bad rocket launcher they wasted tax payer dollars to illegally purchase is a Swedish AT4 Anti Tank Rocket Launcher.... Now for the GREAT PAYOFF!!!!

The AT4 is a "disposable" launcher, so the "Chief" is holding a piece of battlefield TRASH. The tube cannot be reloaded and is a bit unwieldy for use as a bludgeon or club so the only way it could be dangerous is if I were present when they forked over actual money for garbage. I would likely die laughing.

Buybacks like this are actually a violation of ATF regulations as the "department" is engaging in buying and selling firearms without the appropriate license. This is typical of the hubris government exhibits on an almost daily basis. They break the law with impunity and nobody cares.

Add to this... California has NO MONEY... but they have a bunch of it to buy battlefield trash to further the Chief of Police's Political Agenda.

I wish they would let me know when they're doing it again... I have a bunch of combat ninja assault soda bottles they can buy from me.

[racemonkey]

The launcher lying next to it is a disposable LAWS? Same thing just the American version. How about the M1 that holds 8 rounds and an SKS that holds 10. Sad, sad, sad. So much hype so little truth. The media is killing us because people do not have the time to fact check every lie they tell.

[Sharpshooter]

@racemonkey Yep a LAW tube.... the OUTDATED American version....

[sittinduck]

I'd like to know where that rocket launcher was stolen from. That's not something you can buy legally. I hope the police are checking into this matter.

[kyrebel]

The real reason all of it is raising eyebrows, is that each weapon brought back is worth probably around a thousand bucks or more. They turning them in for a food card,lol. Cops probably can't believe people can be so stupid. That would be like me selling a car worth 10,000 for 3,000. The real question is, are the cops checking the serial numbers on gun to make sure there not stolen? If they are stolen, are they returned to the owners or still destroyed?

[artjeb]

I have NEVER heard of any gun returned to the legal owner after it has been found to be stolen bye bye gun.

[Quantummist]

Most of these turn in's are Stolen from law abiding Legal owners then taken to the turn in spot and they get a money card to be used to support drug habits... The Rocket Launchers are Not Illegal and can be bought at Army Surplus stores without any back ground checks because they have been fired and are nothing but a fiberglass tube without the Rockets .... What you have here is a Police Sponsored fencing operation for stolen goods ... How would you feel if your 2000 dollar legal gun was stolen, you report it stolen, and find out that the police paid the thief for it when he sold it to them with no questions asked and never even ran the SN to see if it was stolen....

[woodtick57]

They're all stolen? Seems we have tons of irresponsible gun owners that leave their guns lying around to be stolen, huh?

[Zazziness]

@woodtick57 Oh, touche!

[John_Matrix]

@woodtick57

Oh yes, just like all the irresponsible women who get themselves raped, or the idiots that get themselves killed by drunk drivers. I forgot that it's always the victims fault.... real strong argument you go there.

[Quantummist]

@woodtick57 .. And no they are not All Stolen... Some are Fake reproductions of guns, some are old un fire-able guns, some are missing parts and are junk... And many are stolen... Fact is that is you own a Legal good working order firearm you are Not going to turn it over for a few bucks on a debit card... I know of one guy that turned in 3 broken Airsoft pistols in Detroit and got 50 bucks each for them ...

But those mean old Rocket Launchers are a hoot... You can buy them all day long on line... they are perfectly legal and are not even covered by firearms laws... The Army throws away 10's of 1000's of them as they are disposable and once fired you are trained to break the tube and toss em ... The Rocket fired is covered under existing laws and if either the HAW or LAW displayed had been Live the bomb squad would have been there not some cop playing with it...

Those probably came from a robbery of a Army Surplus store or a private collector that had them as wall hangings because they sell for a few hundred bucks as display pieces...

In L.A. last year 12 Gun Stores were broken into and firearms stolen... So you can bet that some of those guns are Stolen Property from those robberies and the police just paid the thieves and gave them incentive to go rob more stores and homes to steal more and be able to sell them with no questions asked... An Act that would get a Pawn Shop owner arrested and jailed ....

[Quantummist]

@Quantummist .. Not to mention that some of those guns were more than likely used in some of the many Unsolved Murders in L.A. and now the police destroy the very evidence that might solve some of those murders leaving killers on the street.. There are killers that go through all kinds of effort to get rid of murder weapons and now they don't need to worry.. Go kill someone tonight and take the murder weapon down to the police station and they will not only destroy it for you, they will pay you for it... Win, Win...