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IL: Should Victim who Disarms Robber get to Keep the Weapon?
Gun Watch ^ | 11 December, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

Posted on 12/13/2014 12:35:19 AM PST by marktwain


In a small percentage of cases, a victim disarms an attacker.  The attacker usually runs off.  In one case, they even asked for the gun back!   My experience is that disarms by victims are considerably more common than disarms by attackers.   It is not hard to understand why.  The victim has a lot more to gain from a disarm; the attacker a lot more to lose if he continues the fight.   Sometimes the victim turns the gun on the attacker, as happen in this case in Chicago.   It happened in the 6600 block of South State Street, one of the most dangerous areas of the city.   From DNAinfo.com:

After the victim handed over an undisclosed item, he made a move for the gun, Antonietti said. During a brief struggle, the gun went off and Esper was shot in his back, court records show.

Esper ran off, and the victim gave the gun, a .22-caliber Taurus Ultralight, to police. Antonietti said officers recovered six live rounds and two spent rounds.
In a science fiction novel, the Probability Broach, people who disarm their attackers get to keep the weapons.  It seems a reasonable idea, once it is determined that the weapon is not legitimately claimed by another person.  There is no reason to destroy a finely crafted self defense tool like the little Taurus shown.   The victim took a serious risk in obtaining it. He accomplished a significant amount of societal good by preventing numerous future crimes to be committed by the attacker.  It only seems just that he should have it, after due process, of course.

 ©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch


TOPICS: Government; Local News; Politics; Society
KEYWORDS: banglist; criminal; disarm; wartrophy
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We need to reinstate the war trophy. The next congress should do so.
1 posted on 12/13/2014 12:35:19 AM PST by marktwain
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To: marktwain

if they themselves are not a violent criminal, yes.


2 posted on 12/13/2014 1:04:42 AM PST by Secret Agent Man (e- Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: marktwain
In one case, they even asked for the gun back!

I would think that the crime with the gun is a felony. How can a felon make a claim for a gun?

3 posted on 12/13/2014 1:30:48 AM PST by a fool in paradise (Shickl-Gruber's Big Lie gave us Hussein's Un-Affordable Care act (HUAC).)
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To: marktwain

This is a silly idea Physical taking, merely by itself, is no basis for ownership.


4 posted on 12/13/2014 1:32:58 AM PST by Fido969 (What's sad is most)
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To: marktwain

The problem is that crooks usually don’t maintain their weapons well, so there’s a potential for the would-be victim to end up with a low quality, or unsafe weapon. If this proposal were pursued, what I’d prefer to do is that the weapon gets confiscated and destroyed, and the crook is ordered to make restitution to the victim in an amount that includes the full purchase price of a new weapon of similar make. That way, if he grabs it, instead of getting somebody’s old piece of junk, he gets a brand new gun. We’d also be injecting a little extra money into the economy that way.


5 posted on 12/13/2014 1:46:51 AM PST by ArmstedFragg (Hoaxey Dopey Changey)
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To: marktwain

I think the victim should keep the attacker’s wallet.


6 posted on 12/13/2014 2:16:36 AM PST by Maurice Tift (Never wear anything that panics the cat. -- P.J. O'Rourke)
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To: marktwain

If the victim so desires and is not otherwise legally barred from possession plus the weapon is not reported stolen, sure. Just spoils of combat.


7 posted on 12/13/2014 3:04:05 AM PST by Spktyr (Overwhelmingly superior firepower and the willingness to use it is the only proven peace solution.)
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To: marktwain
Anyone who wants to keep a street gun deserves what he or she gets.

Many street guns have been used in violent crimes including murder and have a legacy ballistic evidence trail that could get any owner in a lot of trouble.

Any gun obtained from a criminal should be sent to the police for forensic evaluation to determine it's criminal history.

On the topic of returning guns to violent criminals who hold others at gunpoint and threaten to murder innocent people in unprovoked assaults, lets just say I'm not in favor of leaving the offender in any position or condition to have a weapon of any sort returned to them.

8 posted on 12/13/2014 3:10:11 AM PST by rdcbn
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To: marktwain

Shoppin for a gun...shoppin for a gun! :-)


9 posted on 12/13/2014 3:24:19 AM PST by Candor7 (Obama fascism article:(http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/barack_obama_the_quintessentia_1.html))
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To: marktwain

SIX LIVE ROUNDS!!!!!! Everybody stand back!


10 posted on 12/13/2014 3:34:25 AM PST by KingLudd
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To: KingLudd
SIX LIVE ROUNDS!!!!!! Everybody stand back!

If'n your talking about that purdy 'lil Taurus 941 in the picture above, it holds EIGHT LIVE ROUNDS of .22 MAGNUM!!!!!!

11 posted on 12/13/2014 4:11:04 AM PST by Yo-Yo (Is the /sarc tag really necessary?)
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To: marktwain

A high percentage of street guns are very high quality because they were stolen from honest homeowners who were burgled.

The guns should be used for ballistic matching and evidence at trial and then immediately returned to the rightful owner with the rightful owner’s homeowner’s insurance policy paying a standard 10% finder’s fee to the individual who recovered the stolen property.

If by some stretch, an individual used a lawfully purchased weapon in a home invasion, the weapon should be returned by police (after trial) to the homeowner who recovered the gun or disposed of at that new owner’s discretion.

It is the homeowner’s home and bringing the weapon onto his property equates to a gift. The government has no more right to private property than their employers: the public.

A gun is not illegal. The original owner relinquished his/her right to own a gun (by committing a felony) and the gun now belongs to the last legally entitled possessor.


12 posted on 12/13/2014 4:23:41 AM PST by Ex-Pat in Mex
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To: marktwain

To the victor goes the spoil.


13 posted on 12/13/2014 4:51:13 AM PST by R. Scott (Humanity i love you because when you're hard up you pawn your Intelligence to buy a drink)
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To: marktwain

Give them a choice - keep the weapon or an ear...


14 posted on 12/13/2014 4:52:24 AM PST by trebb (Where in the the hell has my country gone?)
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To: marktwain
Speaking hypothetically, it is a case of "war booty" in most cases.
Now as to whether the 'victor' should keep the piece is a matter of judgement.
Does the 'victor' need the weapon in an immediate sense?
Does the 'victor' see value in the weapon?
Maybe not, in which case it might be a 'smart' move to disassemble the piece and dispose of it in various locations.
Is it a piece likely to attract further attention, i.e. a "well known" weapon?
If so, it might be advantageous to return it to its original owner. Karma is a real and sometimes powerful thing.

As is obvious, there are few quick & dirty answers. And it is not an easy thing to decide as one runs up an alley in a sweat from a 'close encounter' of the weird kind.

Stay Safe.
15 posted on 12/13/2014 4:57:54 AM PST by Tainan (Cogito, ergo conservatus sum -- "The Taliban is inside the building")
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To: ArmstedFragg
We’d also be injecting a little extra money into the economy that way.
Look up the “Broken Window Fallacy."

16 posted on 12/13/2014 5:04:14 AM PST by conservatism_IS_compassion ("Liberalism” is a conspiracy against the public by wire-service journalism.)
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To: marktwain

Spot on. Did the perp show up for treatment? Was the gun stolen? If yes, it should be returned to its rightful owner.


17 posted on 12/13/2014 5:14:07 AM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: Secret Agent Man

Why not create a bounty on criminals? If the guy helps apprehend a criminal isn’t that worth a $1000 prize. Have the criminal work that off in prison.


18 posted on 12/13/2014 5:15:05 AM PST by 1010RD (First, Do No Harm)
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To: marktwain

If the weapon is a Taurus, make sure it works properly before your life depends on it.


19 posted on 12/13/2014 5:17:24 AM PST by Sawdring
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To: Maurice Tift

Give the victim a choice: the attacker’s wallet, their weapon or their scalp.


20 posted on 12/13/2014 5:20:18 AM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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