“Essex Police Chief Peter Silva held up a bump stock that someone turned in this week as the Massachusetts ban on the devices went into effect,” bostoncbslocal.com reports. “‘To my knowledge, this is the only one that’s been turned in to date.'” This despite the fact simple possession of a bump fire stock in the Bay State can land an offender in jail for . . .
life. Yes, the rest of their life.
That’s a long stretch in the slammer. The longest.
Long enough to convince what were law-abiding gun owners (until last week) to turn in their bump fire stock — even though the state legislature doesn’t offer bump fire stock owners financial compensation for making their legally purchased, previous legal piece of plastic illegal?
Chief Silva says the one man who surrendered his bump stock in Essex this week explained why most are not likely to let go. “He was a little frustrated because of the fact that he’d paid a little over $250 on this piece here, and there was no redeeming value for him on the other side to recover that money.”
[Stop Handgun Violence jefe John] Rosenthal says that should not be an excuse to hold on to an illegal device.
“These are devices that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly, and I’m not sure that we ought to be compensating people for giving up these devices that never should have been purchased in the first place,” he said.
Anyway, we know that one resident of a bucolic town on the northeast tip of Massachusetts with roughly 3500 inhabitants surrendered his bump fire stock. How about bump fire stock owners in the rest of the state?
State Police said they received three bump stocks and one trigger crank, as Massachusetts now becomes the first state in the country to make the devices illegal.
So that’s four bump fire stocks and one trigger crank. Bringing the total bump fire stock relinquished to law enforcement officials to five (I used a calculator).
I reckon it’s unrealistic to expect Massachusetts law enforcement to have their sh*t together enough to coordinate bump fire stock surrender data. Certainly not within days of the ban taking effect. I also figure the pathetic numbers revealed would bring no glory to MA legislators.
So I’m not holding my proverbial breath. But I am waiting to see what happens next . . .
Will Massachusetts cops make an effort to recover bump fire stock still in the wild? What if someone in MA uses a bump fire stock during the commission of a crime? What form might police action against bump fire stock owners take?
In the state where the American revolution began, where colonists resisted their British overlords’ effort to confiscate previously legally held gun powder, deadly irony awaits.
“These are devices that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly, ⬅️ straight up lie.
and I’m not sure that we ought to be compensating people for giving up these devices that never should have been purchased in the first place,” he said. ⬅️ Opinion not based on the CONSTITUTION.
It’s about time to purge these fascist scumbags.
I want to know how much he was paid to make such an asinine statement or how his arm was being twisted. May just be an anti that bought one just to turn it in and get five minutes of fame. Those types are quickly forgotten five minutes later.
And now I’m going back to sleep.
Either way there’s a place against the wall reserved just for him.
They have his name now…how many other items does he have that may someday become illegal ? What a dumb azz.
If I lived in that asinine state and owned a bump-stock, it would be stashed until such time as a new “Tea Party Revolution” commenced!
“These are devices that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly”
Spoken like a true cop.
That was the mouthpiece for a gun-grabber group, not a cop.
A cop would have said it’s designed to kill a lot of dogs or innocent bystanders quickly.
That is actually his own group. I don’t think he has any employees, it’s a one man band ban group. He’s wealthy (not bloomberg wealth). I think his parents made the money and rosenthal is a trust fund baby. He’s been at it for YEARS. In the 1980’s in was protesting nuclear power and blocking the gates to the power plant. He’s an ass
The one item that kills a lot of people quickly is called a Democrat voter…
They are designed to fire at a rate comparable to a fully automatic rifle with a minimum of training. Given that he scored 420 hits on crowd at 450 yards, a 40% hit ratio, I don’t think effectiveness of a bump stock can questioned. But given the low death rate, the leathal effectiveness of a .556 round at that same range can be questioned.
For a small tax payment, you can have the real thing. The law is a knee-jerk reaction and an attempt to discourage gun ownership in Massachusetts.
That quote is from John Rosenthal, who heads up the group Stop Handgun Violence, not the police chief.
Mr. Rosenthal’s opines that since bump stocks are evil only evil people would have them, ERGO they don’t deserve compensation when their property is confiscated. If this would not technically violate the Art. I, Section 9 prohibition of ex post facto law it amounts to the same thing in effect. This hints that hatred for the Constitution and gun owners energizes his idealism.
“I’m not sure that we ought to be compensating people for giving up these devices”
I don’t want to put words into these peoples mouths, but I feel like this sentiment is rubbing elbows with “there’s no such thing as personal property.”
There should be a law – we can call it “the illegal siezure of personal property law” (cough 4th amendment cough).
@ BigDaveinVT
Bingo ! Give that Vermonter a cigar.
“Give that Vermonter a cigar.”
With a ‘Connecticut Shade’ wrapper?
*snicker* 😉
This is actually a Fifth Amendment issue:
“…nor shall be deprived of life, liberty or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
And while I am not a lawyer, I have to believe that a State law written in clear violation of the Second Amendment, dos not constitute “due process of law.”
They two are not mutually exclusive. It’s both. And I don’t even like those silly things at all, never did.
Cliff,
They got around that when they wrote the law because you can always move or sell it out of state. The problem is the letter that was sent out 2 weeks ago doesn’t acknowledge that. So it tells you that you must turn it in. Which is a LIE.
Either way, I think there is going to be some litigation around this.
Actually it’s the 5th Amendment. It’s very clear that they have to compensate.
So, it’s a groundbreaking, game-changing idea to pay gangsta’s to not commit felonies, but it’s not okay to pay citizens for the mandated forfeiture of previously legally-possessed items. Got it.
I think the State can provide the proper financial compensation for the items turned it. If not, I am sure you will win a court if you want to waste your time.
If the state somehow is successful in confiscating my crap, I’m deducting it on my income taxes as a credit in the amount of the statutory fine. Then it’s up to them to figure out what I did.
“These are devices that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly, and I’m not sure that we ought to be compensating people for giving up these devices that never should have been purchased in the first place,” he said.
Such treachery, can we bring back the Gallows; hanging is better than feffe powder puff deserves. Drawn & quartered perhaps?
Don’t be stupid, those were the words of a private citizen. Or are you advocating the suppression of the 1st amendment?
FLAME DELETED The 1st amendment is a prohibition of the GOVERNMENTAL restriction of language, not ours. If he wants to say it, fine, but he can pay the consequences. If anyone wants to hurt or kill him, I won’t use my skills or firearms to prevent it.
And if the GOOD residents of MassaTaxes wish to be the birthplace of a 2nd American revolution, they will, not be alone. Many veterans and others will be glad to help.
Life. Wow. The Feds are easier on you when you have a full blown legit machine gun illegally. That’s only 10 years, (7.5 really with good time), and federal prison is an easy ride compared to state time. Life in prison for this. Might as well be the death penalty. These liberal regressives are the same as ISIS in my eyes.
Well that plus what you’ll probably get when the IRS comes at you for tax evasion for not having a proper tax stamp. That’s up to another five years and $100K in fines.
First, THEY came for our Bump Stocks and Trigger cranks.
Then THEY came for your Telescopic sights. Then your Magazines. Then your laser sights…Then your Guns…..The road to “creeping incrementalism.”
Don’t turn them in. No way you are going to get life for this. Insanity.
If you get a jury of idiots, or a rotten judge, you just might.
#1 I wouldn’t tolerate living in a communist state.
#2 If I some how was trapped in a communist state, a doom tube isn’t hard to make.
What exactly is a “doom tube”?
Just a guess here, but I’m assuming it’s a waterproof tube (pvc pipe or some such) buried in the yard filled with all your stuff in case SHTF.
I’ve always heard that the conventional wisdom is: When you’re inclined to bury contraband weapons, that means it’s time to dig them up.
Outstanding !!!
John, its pointless to dig them up until there is an organized movement. The few who do fight back are cut down and brushed aside as “just another crazy”. This isn’t 1776 where you can run off into the forest, and Mel Gibson isn’t going to come rushing in with the militia and old glory, illuminated by the bursting bombs, to save your ass at the last moment.
Suppose someone said fuck it and fought back anyway. Their life and their families lives, relatives lives, friends lives, are all up ended, some may even have to move. The community, depending on size, will be affected as well.
Until an organized militia is formed on a national level, the resistance party, whatever you want to call it, and it has actual teeth to it rather than words, keep them buried.
Arc i would suggest you are supposed to have the doom tube ready before it becomes commie. even then most dont go get them as the enemy make the penalties for doing so harsher than having them in the first place. nope have them ready to go along with pack with rats and ammo and any basic survival essentials.
My bug bag and kit is ready to go, but I can’t carry everything with me at once. Doom tubes fit the bill for replacement parts, boots, medical, etc. Ideal resupply points, caches, etc.
Having multiple plans is planning for success.
“Essex Police Chief Peter Silva held up a bump stock that someone turned in this week as the Massachusetts ban on the devices went into effect,”
In Essex Vermont,No Bump Fire Stock was turned in ever.
Massachusetts birth place of Liberty now Commiechusetts death place of Liberty,I’ll bet the slaves that reside there are proud of what they have wrought.
Is this possibly a violation of the “takings clause”?
Not possibly. Definitely.
By prohibiting the sale of the item, the law has eliminated is value. Further, requiring it to be turned over is an unlawful taking without just compensation.
SCOTUS has ruled sometime in the past that eliminating the value of an item by prohibiting its sale (I believe it was in regard to a taxidermied endangered species that had been done before the ban, but can’t recall) constitutes an unlawful taking. So, they’re hit on two sides with this law.
And to to think this is the state and the descendents of the Americans who once turned out nearly 4000 citizens in a single day armed with private firearms suitable for military use to stop government confiscation of gunpowder and OMG privately owned canon.
“What if someone in MA uses a bump fire stock during the commission of a crime?”
More likely that someone would just ignorantly be shooting outdoors when a cop was patrolling nearby. Boom, Boom, Out go the lights.
Even if the person “only” gets 18 years, it’s going to scare the shite out of others.
Friends and I were shooting in a sand pit without any devices when someone nearby reported “automatic weapons fire”. We got a visit and our rifles were confiscated “for testing”. After we paid an attorney, we got our rifles back. Whew!
As Andrew Branca says: in MA, whether you were in the right or the wrong, you’re going to be run through the system as punishment.
That’s why I don’t live there no more. 8>)
Couple buddies out shooting their bump stocks in the woods when a cop comes by – facing potential life imprisonment, what might have been a friendly encounter might well turn into a shoot, shovel and shut up moment.
The Founders arr turning over in their graves.
Nope…… they would have already been done with the killing and on to lunch by now.
No they have been spinning for awhile now, the right question is what rpm are the up too now?
Dude, they put up with slave holders. The founding fathers were lots of things, and I think pragmatic would be top on the list.
Why not just sell it to someone, anyone, out of state?
Plenty of people suddenly started wanting them after Vegas…
The new “law” specifically says they cannot be sold. They wanted to make turning them in the only option.
Massachusetts can say anything they want but their laws have no effect beyond the borders of Massachusetts. It is not yet illegal to transport a bump stock across state lines so they can huff and puff all they want. The law also says they can’t be held out of State but again they have no ability to enforce that provision of the law.
“These are devices that are designed to kill a lot of people quickly, and I’m not sure that we ought to be compensating people for giving up these devices…”
Like the 2nd Amendment, they think the 5th Amendment is outdated too…
“No person shall be … deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.”
or the ex post facto clause.
Sic Semper Tyrannus
It’s not an ex post facto law. Look up what ex post facto means.
Personally other then to breath fresh air. I wouldn’t have a lot to loose by going to jail. Might even be a relief to let the state pay. Instead of me having to pay for day to day living for awhile. I wouldn’t turn in any at the time legally and lawfully purchased items. Not without full compensation by the state. A pen doesn’t make a law justifiable nor constitutional. If I lived in Mass. And the po po came to my door. They had better be prepared to see me make use of my formerly legal piece of plastic. Banning bump stocks and expecting owners to turn them in is a ridiculous waste of time. Making something illegal due to the use of 1 person out of millions of gun owners is insanity. They just have to look south to see the response making “assault” rifles illegal has gotten Connecticut and NY state. Nowhere. Same with Marylands stupidity.
These Democrats passing these laws are not stupid.
They’re evil.
@ TyrannyOfEvilMen
Along that line of thought,I came across this article
Paraphrasing Cato: The Democratic Party Must Be Destroyed
Let’s move ahead in time. Today we see the depravity and anti-Americanism that is prevalent in today’s Democratic Party is literally putting our constitutional republic at risk. Do you think that’s an exaggeration? Let’s take a look.
On social issues, the Democrats are the leading force of moral decay in America. They are the champion of such perverse things as unrestricted abortion, homosexual marriage, transgenderism, racial strife, and a God-hating form of radical secularism. They corrupt every institution in the U.S. with these ‘novel’ concepts from our schools to the military and everything in between. The one thing these initiatives all have in common is that they rot out the foundation of the Republic and undermine the family.
When it comes to economic matters, Democratic policies suffocate growth through regulations, high taxes, and crony capitalism. In the party’s view, personal self-sufficiency, independence, and holding a traditional family together are sins, while dependency on government is a virtue. Judging by their behavior, the only growth the Democrats applaud and work towards is growth in government, growth in the welfare rolls, and growth in the influx of Third-World immigrants into the country.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2018/02/paraphrasing_cato_the_democratic_party_must_be_destroyed.html#ixzz56AQwQR3Y
My people from MA, we’re proud of you and we stand with you. We’ll all be watching to see what happens. We won’t leave you guys behind! Never!
Some tyrants/politicians in MA need to be dead. Wonder when someone starts this process.
Interestingly, the law states that bump fire stocks cannot be transferred. It doesn’t state to who it cannot be transferred.
“No man’s life, liberty, or property are safe while the legislature is in session.”
― Gideon J. Tucker
their*
4th paragraph from the bottom
Hopefully, this guy turned it in so that he can now have standing to take the case all the way to the Supreme Court.
All he can do is get the money for the stock back from the state, with a little luck court costs too. But I think the second that someone from state gets a letter from his lawyer that has the authority to send a check, they will be sending one.
How many bump sticks are out there anywaym. It isn’t a serialized piece of gear. The authorities have no idea how many are out there or who owns them.
There is also nothing to prevent Massachusetts residents taking them out of the State prior to the ban going into effect despite the law’s language. Bump stocks are not yet illegal under Federal law or regulation so you can legally transport them across State lines. And Massachusetts has no legal authority to hold you liable for keeping your bump stock at your vacation home or a friends residence in Vermont or New Hampshire.
The only way they can discover your illegal bump stock is if you are foolish enough to use it in Massachusetts.
Maybe more people would have turned them in if the Commonwealth offered a $200 grocery card or something. After all, that reward system works so well for gun “buybacks,” doesn’t it?
Their shit together*
Wrong “they’re” in the article.
Anyhow, massive non-compliance as expected.
All I can say is that I reminded of this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXxJKov1g14
All the bumpbangs are gone in Massachusetts now, thank goodness those 5 did the right thing.
I’m horrified at the seizure of personal property. What can you do? I don’t see the NRA or GOAl helping ( maybe they are and I missed it). One would think the ACLU would step in. And no I am not concussed……
@ AndyinMA
The GOA is on the record against the Bump Fire Ban while the Negotiating Rights Away since 1934 is on the record in favor of the ban.
Well the Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was just 4 gang bangers shot and look what resulted from that. We almost loss handguns too. Vegas was 420 shot.
I fairly sure the second someone files files for damages (the cost of the stock, not something stupid) the will be getting a check, if not, they will likely win with a summary judgment the first day in court.
They’re terribly inaccurate. They’re designed to be novelty range toys. This guy’s statement sounds like freedom hating totalitarianism.
That’s the lie. They are not at all inaccurate. The biggest issue with them is to operate them properly in a firefight, not an issue firing into a crowd 450 yards away from a 30 story window. He’s scored 420 hits. The only reason the death toll was sow low was give the range the rounds hit with the force of a hot .32 acp
Nobody surrendered a piece of wood with “Molon Labe” engraved?
what a state,, agian so glad to be out of there,, I have a Bump fire stock, there would be no way i give mine up
The thing the police are not telling people is that MA law ends at the MA border.
You do NOT have to turn them in to be legal. Simply move them out of state. I have a confirmation in WRITING from the state acknowledging that moving the stock out of state puts you in compliance with the law.
And THIS is why there isn’t money being offered to people for them. As long as you can comply without giving up your property, they don’t have to offer money.
The problem is that the state sent out a letter a couple of weeks ago that did not offer moving it out of state as a means of compliance. When I spoke to a lawyer at the EOPSS office they acknowledged verbally that the state has no legal authority to control what you possess in another state.
I asked for this in writing and got it from the attorney. Her name is Shannon Sullivan.
I feel sorry for the MA people who turned them in. There is no need to turn them in if you can move them out of state.
Text of her email appended below.
Don
Good evening,
The owner of the bump stock or trigger crank needs to physically leave the state with the item. It cannot be mailed from or transferred (with respect to possession as well as ownership) or gifted within the Commonwealth.
Thank you,
Shannon Sullivan
Assistant General Counsel
Executive Office of Public Safety and Security
It is true that bump stocks are designed for only one thing but it ISN’T to kill lots of people….it’s to turn lot’s of money into noise!
Put it in taxes as theft / loss. Let MA pay back that way. I am not a tax professional. Just IMO
Bump stocks don’t kill. People kill. Don’t own one, because I have no need for one. However, some people love to waste ammo. These sort of devices are fun to shot, but it will cost you. At 30 cents a round for .223/5.56. As usual, these silly laws are symbolic and do little to curb crime or people who have a propensity for violence or mass killings. This narrative gets repeated at nauseam. Only people who misunderstand human behavior would appreciate these efforts by misguide politicians and law enforcement.
Why would anyone remain living in Massachusetts, or any other Liberal Nazi state. Leave! Now! Trust me, you will foind a job in another state that allows people to be free.
I would sell it in another state where it is legal, screw turning it in I prefer destroying it first.
ONE GOOD REASON MANY OF THE BUMPSTOCKS WILL NOT BE TURNED IN, IS THE LETTER FROM THE “EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY” LOOKS EXACTLY LIKE JUST ANOTHER “JUNK MAIL”. OTHER THAN THE ADDRESS MAILED TO, THERE IS AN ADDRESS OF ” ONE ASHBURTON PLACE, ROOM 2133, BOSTON, MA. 02108. I’M SURE MANY JUST GOT TOSSED UNOPENED. IF THE STATE WERE SERIOUS, THEY SHOULD HAVE SENT THIS AS REGISTERED MAIL.
THERE WILL BE MANY INNOCENT MA. RESIDENTS WHO UNKNOWINGLY BECOME FELONS. LIFE IN PRISON FOR THAT??
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