Looking at the internet this morning I found where in Baltimore Maryland there is a group, supported by the mayor, offering laptops and training to use them to people who are willing to bring in a gun, no questions asked.

They say the crime rate is so high in that city they are doing anything they can to get the guns off the streets and this is just one way.  Some of the supporters are saying that by getting these thugs to give up their guns and get some training on how to use the computers will help the city in a big way…by the way, they have 150 of these refurbished laptops.  I guess 150 guns would be a big thing to get off the streets.

I question the use of the laptops however, these thugs have their reasons for being on the streets with guns in the first place and it’s not because they have nice homes and internet access.  So, give them a laptop and what are they going to do with it?  They surely can’t afford an internet connection and so off to the pawn shop it will go and another gun will be the end result of the sale…just my opinion.  Of course they won’t be able to find ammo for it so it will be about as useful as a laptop without internet.

This reminds me of a time many years ago when the Salt Lake City police decided it would be a good thing to invite the public to bring their automatic weapons to the DWR range and shoot them.  The advertisement went something like this:  You’ve owned your automatic weapons for many years and never been able to shoot them.  Now is the time!  Come on down to the Lee Kay Center on Saturday (whatever date) at 9 a.m. and you will be allowed to shoot all day long.  No cost!  Free Entrance to the center.  Meet the police chief and his deputies for this fun event!  Bring lots of ammo as those rifles really eat it up!  What a fun day it will be!  Tell all your friends about this event and get them to bring their automatic weapons along as well!  Free hot dogs and drinks!

I made all of that up of course, but there were flyers all over town and 15 second ads on the radio as well.  There was a guy who worked “up stairs” from my work and he came down and told me about it.  He was excited as heck to think he could pull his old military weapons out and go shoot ’em.  He thought I would be as excited as he was, but I told him I wasn’t into that sort of thing.  Muzzleloaders were my style.  And then again on the Friday before the event, he came down once more to find out if I had changed my mind.  He even had pictures of his automatic weapons that he was taking to the center the next day to shoot.  If ever there was a guy who was excited about it, he was the picture on the book!  I’ll even bet he had dreams about it and very little sleep just thinking about it.  I know for a fact his work suffered from his inattention.

On the following Monday he came into my office in a rage!  His guns and ammo had all be confiscated by the police as he crossed into the Center.  The ruse netted several automatic gun owners that day and off to jail they went.  They met the Chief of police all right and a lot of the deputies as well.  His story was one of woe and disaster and of course the “I’m gonna sue” statements.  To my knowledge he never got his guns or ammo back…everyone knows it’s illegal to own automatic weapons, at least here in Utah.  He was too excited to think he could go out and shoot his guns to rationally think the police were really sponsoring such an event.  And they didn’t even offer him a laptop.

Bears Butt

July 13, 2013