NYC: Where only Cops and Crooks have guns...

[roberts]

If that's New York's finest, no wonder the city never sleeps.

[BobCat]

That sounds like a good idea, except that when I am on the other side of the lawn I want my wife to be able to sell my guns / reloading equipment for the best $ she can get, and having my name engraved might lower the selling price. I certainly don't intend on selling any of them while there is life and breath in my body.

An LEO might need to give his department the serial number of his duty weapon and whatever backup he carries (never been an LEO so I have no real knowledge). Serial numbers would work as well as having one's name engraved.

I wish I knew how to tag this incident in the news so I'd be able to follow it over time. Is that how RSS works, or is that something else? Reason is, I'm cynical enough to think this officer will suffer less negative consequences than an ordinary citizen would, and I'd really, really like to be proven wrong.

[seamusTX]

I wish I knew how to tag this incident in the news so I'd be able to follow it over time.

Go to http://www.google.com/alerts" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and follow the instructions.

When tracking news stories, it's best to enter the names of the people involved. Otherwise you get a lot of unrelated alerts for terms like police and gun.

I'm cynical enough to think this officer will suffer less negative consequences than an ordinary citizen would...

Nah. He committed a federal offense. He's toast.

- Jim

[DoubleJ]

Two uniformed cops arrived, ordered Harpaul to the ground and handcuffed him. The officers found Harpaul's service weapon and marijuana in his car.

...

Does that mean service marijuana?

goes with one's Service Pipe, and/or pack of Service Zags.

[BobCat]

Jim,

Thanks! For the google alerts link (I will definitely learn to use it) and for pointing out that his having a gun with the serial number obliterated will buy him some prison time.

Can't help but laugh though, that having a gun that was manufactured before serial numbers were legally required is ok, but defacing a serial number is a Federal Offense.

[seamusTX]

Can't help but laugh though, that having a gun that was manufactured before serial numbers were legally required is ok, but defacing a serial number is a Federal Offense.

The feds could not reasonably have done anything else. When they started to require serial numbers, there were millions of firearms in private hands that did not have serial numbers. Those weapons were sold before FFLs had the paperwork requirements that came along later.

They are still floating around. I've seen a couple. They were mostly the cheap department-store branded firearms, or the infamous Iver Johnsons.

- Jim

[ELB]

Can't help but laugh though, that having a gun that was manufactured before serial numbers were legally required is ok, but defacing a serial number is a Federal Offense.

The feds could not reasonably have done anything else. When they started to require serial numbers, there were millions of firearms in private hands that did not have serial numbers. Those weapons were sold before FFLs had the paperwork requirements that came along later.

They are still floating around. I've seen a couple. They were mostly the cheap department-store branded firearms, or the infamous Iver Johnsons.

- Jim

I believe it is still legal to have a non-serial-numbered firearm if you made it yourself and did not manufacture it to be sold. There are some marking requirements, I think ( I may be confusing this with having NFA firearms in a trust), but I believe no serial number is required.

I doubt that this stupid soon-to-be-ex-cop made his own unserial-numbered gun...

[.45mac.40]

Might be...could be ... a way to get him into tha' jail system ( under cover ) to help find hidden guns, in tha' fat folds of other criminals ??
Wonder how long he has been employed with New York's finest ?
Mac .45 >>>>> %%%

[WildBill]

Can't help but laugh though, that having a gun that was manufactured before serial numbers were legally required is ok, but defacing a serial number is a Federal Offense.

The feds could not reasonably have done anything else. When they started to require serial numbers, there were millions of firearms in private hands that did not have serial numbers. Those weapons were sold before FFLs had the paperwork requirements that came along later.

They are still floating around. I've seen a couple. They were mostly the cheap department-store branded firearms, or the infamous Iver Johnsons.

- Jim

I believe it is still legal to have a non-serial-numbered firearm if you made it yourself and did not manufacture it to be sold. There are some marking requirements, I think ( I may be confusing this with having NFA firearms in a trust), but I believe no serial number is required.

I doubt that this stupid soon-to-be-ex-cop made his own unserial-numbered gun...

If you believe "sources" it is quite clear from the original story that this gun was not exempt from having a serial number.

"The cop went back to his car and came back holding an unlicensed handgun with a defaced serial number, an illegal weapon that would be difficult to trace if it were used in a crime, sources said. "

[ELB]

I was engaging in a bit of understatement....