“I don’t know why the homeless are viewed as such a different type of people as the rest of us. I carry a gun with me all the time, and I don’t victimize anyone. I wouldn’t expect that the homeless would use their weapons to fight off the police who are asking them to leave. I think the homeless would use their weapons to protect themselves from being victims of violent crimes.” – Michigan US Senate Candidate Brian Ellison in U.S. Senate candidate wants to buy guns for homeless people [via michiganradio.org]

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48 COMMENTS

  2. I like his thinking but I can see both sides of the argument. Some homeless folks aren’t exactly pillars of the community nor are they poster children for being well balanced and socially adjusted humans. Some are violent nut jobs and some are addicts while others are just down on their luck… Still in the name of freedom though they should be armed however, I could see a possible rise in violent crime from the homeless community should this policy actually take hold as I’m sure some of the violent nut jobs and addicts would inevitably lay hands on a shotgun and use said shotgun for nefarious purposes against unarmed folks. This is kind of a catch 22. Sure we gain a bunch of armed folks and that could be good but we also could gain a bunch of crazies who would normally be harmlessly screaming at their stolen shopping carts now carting around a loaded 12 gauge.

    • Don’t have the data in front of me, Bob, but as I recall – the significant majority of homeless are either drug addicts, mentally ill or both. In other words: precisely the folks who are precluded from purchasing a firearm from a licensed dealer.
      The fact is: clean, sober, and sane people won’t be homeless for long – they find jobs and get back on their feet. It is the long-term homeless who (if they are not infirm and unable to work) are least responsible enough to be given a gun.
      I’m conflicted on this one. I’d like to think that no one should ever be denied the right to self-defense… but it seems that the majority of homeless need institutionalization more than a free gun.
      🤠

      • I work with the homeless. I am not sure that I have met a person who has been homeless for more than a few weeks who is not a prohibited person.

        Most of the folks who are chronically homeless are mentally ill, an addict, a felon, or some combination of the three. Some are very nice, some are trying to better their situation, and some are completely delusional. I try to help them all, but I wouldn’t want to arm any of them.

        • The Armed Citizens Project has been supplying guns to poor people for a while now. This Libertarian is why I say the three L’s, Libertarians Liberal and the Left are part of the problem. If he wasn’t to help poor people then he can start a local ACP in his area, and give away guns to WORKING poor people.

          Only a Libertarian would want to supply guns to mentally ill drug addicts and possibly violent people. And how is a homeless person suppose to secure a firearm????

          The Obama administration did supply guns to violent people as well, but in Mexico.

          http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/03/31/group-wants-to-give-guns-to-poor.html

  4. He’s a libertarian (if you ain’t Conservative you ard part of the problem).

    This is another money grab, anything the government is ‘asssed’ to do, especially charitabe work, nets $0.02 value on the dollar at best.

  7. I am sure they will spend quality time at the range to ensure proficiency. Because we know the homeless will prioritize their money for range fees and ammo.

    Had to check the date to make sure it wasn’t April 1st already.

  10. By the way, if he wants to “give” guns to the homeless, fine, I say go for it, more power to you.

    Oh wait, he wants to use other people’s money to pay for it?

    Oh that’s right – he’s a politician.

  11. Joe R.: Define conservative and libertarian. I am not sure we all use the same definitions. For instance most conservatives voted for DT for some reason and he didn’t seem to fit the definition of conservative, as I know it, very well.

    • True, but then neither did Hillary…

      And Johnson was a bad joke who never stood any chance of winning anyway.

  12. I don’t see both sides. The homeless populations I am familiar with have combined mental illness or addiction rates of 70% or more. Most of the remaining have their live in total turmoil due to extreme trauma / PTSD of some type. They already fell through all the main safety nets. Plus the most likely have no method to store a firearm when they go into a gun free zone.

    I can see homeless being utilized as watchmen of some type with comm gear. They are an untapped resource and by definition out on the street. A part time job as a watchmen might be the step ladder the need to get back on their feet and would help protect them and their fellow homeless.

    • Didn’t “we” already buy them overpriced Obumer phones? Or were those restricted to intercity doper “minority” voters?

    • “Ossifer, there’s a horde of demons robbing the jewelery store that only I can see!”

      Yeah, such a valuable ‘resource’

  13. I appreciate his thinking, but this is an idea that won’t gain much Voter approval. I don’t know how many homeless people vote and am having trouble reckoning what Voter base he hoped to impress by advancing this idea. Most people in my locality who do vote are not big fans of the homeless population.

    Might be he seeks nothing more than affirming himself as a strong Second Amendment supporter and equalitarian, or maybe he wants to brand himself as “ecologically-minded” by arming the homeless with recycled “Buyback Guns” that are still functional instead of destroying them. Would the gun come with appropriate ammunition and a bottle of Valium, Thorazine or Prozac? I guess you can make this sh*t up now and again….

  14. The government (obviously via the tax payers) buying anything for anyone doesn’t seem particularly libertarian to me. Then again he isn’t going to win so just saying things to induce thought might be his goal.

  16. Work to make weapons and concealed licenses more affordable for the homeless citizens that would like to carry. A gun give away is a terrible idea. You end up with armed people that might not understand the responsibility of owning a gun because it’s FREE.

  17. I’m happy to volunteer my Saturday afternoons passing out ammo at the bullet bank (next to the food bank). Too bad the homeless keep going to the pawn shops to trade their guns for a sleeping bags. Maybe they need some good ol’ fashioned American re-education to get their priorities straight.

  18. Define homeless. The woman living in her car who is working full time but cannot afford housing in her area because of pricing? The man following seasonal jobs and living in his van?

    Being a CA resident I have said this many, many times. My human and civil rights are not dependent on my zip code. There are no constitution free zones in the US.

    If a ‘homeless person’ cannot be trusted with his/her rights why are they free on the streets?

    • The thousands building tent favelas on every street corner in the big cities? Who are we to call them homeless?

    • I will take this a step further. I live full time in a 1/4 million dollar RV, which is an awesome lifestyle if your job supports it. We rudely discovered that we were “homeless” in the eyes of the government. Apparently, a UPS mail box doesn’t work. In order to buy a firearm, the address on your license has to be a piece of dirt even if that piece of dirt changes every month. Even though we didn’t need it, we were force to buy/rent something with land under it to get our rights back.

  20. GIVE the homeless guns? Buy them like all of us and pass a background check. I’ve seen and been harassed by quite a few especially when I lived in Chiraq. Helped some out too. But go for it libertarians…and use your own money!

  21. I think the only issue with his premise is this: Is imagine most of the homeless have some sort of dependency problem, and will end up selling off, legally or not, to procure their item of choice. So it would be a massive government funded drug or alcohol program.

    Now I think about it, that doesn’t sound like too bad of an idea. I’ll take a bottle of Stranahan’s Black label please.

  23. Agreed. Remove regulation and barriers for citizens to carry in any form and let Americans buy what they can afford. Oh, I don’t know, something like national Constitutional Carry would solve the problem.

  25. So if you’re 20 years old with a perfect record, going to school, working to pay your tuition, and a member of 4H and ROTC, you can’t buy a handgun from a dealer or any gun from Dickless Sporting Goods, but if you’re a homeless derelict wino you get one for free?

    Brilliant!

  26. I say go for it. CA needs to burn badly, and they’re about to pay for hobos’ weapons via universal income gibmedats and the open border anyhow.

    • CA? I’m pretty sure it says Michigan…

      And, if you bothered to read the article he admits it is a publicity stunt.

      • Speaking more in general. I’d assume winter imposes an upper limit on just how bad the homeless problem can become. But in a broad sense, I’d say the proposal has it’s merits, in much the same vein as Jonathan Swift’s ‘A Modest Proposal.’ In theory, mere bloodshed should be preferable to cannibalism.

  27. So homeless can now hold you up for money instead of begging. No more money problems for the homeless!

  28. : 1 sell the gun on the street , buy booze, 2 sell the gun at pawn shop, buy booze and drugs. 3 hold up convenient store, steal booze, food, and have money left over for drugs. ….”heya buddy,. ,, Yah got any spare change, kmon on lend a guy a dollar will yah.” All joking aside the homeless need some help, 160 billion dollars to fly past Uranus and America’s got starvation in the streets

  29. I saw one homeless guy walking down the sidewalk in a city and was hollering and cussing at someone. Problem was that he was by himself. Yeah let him have a gun, what could go wrong.

  30. Just about everybody in the US can walk into a restaurant or a market and can ask if they have some food that someone did not eat. If they offer to clean the bathroom or even sweep the sidewalk in front, they will get fed. There are churches and even ask a cop for a meal and they should get something..
    It won’t be the best, it might be past the date on the label, but it will feed them, hell, even I have been known to buy a burger for a bum. I really don’t care if he/she is a drug addict or a drunk, feeding them is only right – now setting them up in a private apartment – not going to happen.
    I do not believe that people are starving in the US, unless they are afraid to ask for something to eat.

  32. Beyond this being a stupid idea for all the obvious reasons, how does he plan on arming these homeless people? Since he said “buy” I’m gonna equate that to “tax” as it’s probably not coming out of his pocket. Wouldn’t enacting a tax, on the average joe, to buy other people guns conflict with his libertarian views?

    For once I’d like to see an ACTUAL libertarian run for office. Seems all the shams we get either suggest new taxes instead removing taxes, or want to ban things :cough: guns :cough: they don’t like (looking at you “libertarian” Gary Johnson). Hell, I’d take an actual practicing Anarchist for that matter. I’m getting sick of the “solution to government is more government” crap we deal with on the daily.

  33. Mixed opinion…Not all Homeless folks are in the street of their own doing…In some States, landlords can of course just terminate someone’s residential leasing agreement for no reason at all…Or because they just don’t like you, or some form of retailation….Some states also have housing shortages. (Thank DNC for put illegals 1st) Put these things together and looks out….A deliberate social engineering project to keep people from stable housing….As for the other 50% , the mentally ill purged from state healthcare facilities that have shuttered…Happens all the time…and they wind up on the street with the small percentage of criminals, druggies, etc….

  34. I would love to see the homeless armed. They would definately keep police more honest.

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