TX: 70 yr old Plano vet sentenced to 87 months

[SQLGeek]

There is more to this story than you think. years-decades-old-rifle-purchase

That is almost always the case and something the Internet Outrage Machine so often ignores.

[jason812]

Throw out the drugs and mental instability and just focus on the gun. Not how he got it but just owning the gun.

Yes he broke the law but should it be against the law in the first place?

[K.Mooneyham]

Well, my problem is this: why not bust him for the ILLEGAL DRUGS? Why not bust him previously for the violent behavior? To me, the mass news media, in their eternal hatred of firearms and the 2nd Amendment, made this guy an internet cause with their manipulation of the facts of the events. They WANTED people to think the only reason he was busted was because he was a "dirty gun owner". The story should have read something along the lines of him being busted for multiple illegal activities, including possession of illegal controlled substances and an un-registered full-auto firearm. If you want to blame someone for making this into something it was not, blame the mass news media.

[WildBill]

Well, my problem is this: why not bust him for the ILLEGAL DRUGS? Why not bust him previously for the violent behavior? To me, the mass news media, in their eternal hatred of firearms and the 2nd Amendment, made this guy an internet cause with their manipulation of the facts of the events. They WANTED people to think the only reason he was busted was because he was a "dirty gun owner". The story should have read something along the lines of him being busted for multiple illegal activities, including possession of illegal controlled substances and an un-registered full-auto firearm. If you want to blame someone for making this into something it was not, blame the mass news media.

Headlines are written so that they attract attention, not necessarily to tell a story.

Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms also found Pick to be in possession of cocaine and marijuana,
according to his indictment. He pleaded guilty to the charge in April in a deal with federal prosecutors.

In exchange for Pick's guilty plea to the charge for which he was convicted, two other charges were dismissed: possession of
an unregistered firearm and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number.

"Obviously, there was a lot more to the sentence that was received — a sentence that Mr. Pick and his lawyer agreed
to — than a single gun with a missing serial number," said Brown, the U.S. attorney. "Although Mr. Pick was a decorated
veteran, he would use that status routinely to try to excuse his repeated criminal behavior. This was also not a mental
health issue. It became a public safety issue."

https://www.dallasnews.com/news/guns/20 ... e-purchase

[TreyHouston]

Oh, come on - you think being a vet should give him a pass for having an unregistered select-fire rifle with a defaced serial-number? No sympathy.

it was against the law when he bought it and I am pretty sure he knew it as well. Ticking time bomb.

[Deltaboy]

Horrible situation. I signed the petition! On another note millions of arms were made before the 1968 Gun control Act.We

[mrvmax]

Oh, come on - you think being a vet should give him a pass for having an unregistered select-fire rifle with a defaced serial-number? No sympathy.

I’m with you, after reading several accounts and parts of the court documents I have a different picture of him. He doesn’t appear to be an unintelligent person so it seems like he either thought he was above being caught or he didn’t care. To have a class 3 firearm with the serial number altered that you showed off to friends almost seemed like he thumbed his nose at the government. I have zero sympathy for him.

[flowrie]

I signed the petition.

[mrvmax]

More info, I’m not sure why anyone would be signing a petition for this guy. I don’t have proof but someone living in his area said he stole the rifle in question. I don’t care what he did when he was younger, he got much less than he deserved. Ill agree the initial story lacked many details and it was easier to sympathize with him. Now it should be pretty clear that he was not a model citizen.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/pl ... -violation

[03Lightningrocks]

More info, I’m not sure why anyone would be signing a petition for this guy. I don’t have proof but someone living in his area said he stole the rifle in question. I don’t care what he did when he was younger, he got much less than he deserved. Ill agree the initial story lacked many details and it was easier to sympathize with him. Now it should be pretty clear that he was not a model citizen.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtx/pr/pl ... -violation

That was what happened to me after my initial reaction. I think the guy got off easy considering the laws broken.

[RogueUSMC]

Yes he broke the law but should it be against the law in the first place?

No, it shouldn't - but we've all got to abide by it regardless until it's overturned.

DING DING DING!