It’s nice to know I’m not the only blogger scanning the most obscure corners of the internet for gun news. Some keyboard tapper at the Violence Policy Center (VPC) Tweeted a link to the palmbeachpost.com‘s police blotter. “CCW holder arrested for drinking while armed in Florida park.” True. “A man was arrested in a city park in the 1900 block of North Seacrest Boulevard and charged with having an open container of an alcoholic beverage and a handgun. While he did have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, it is against the city’s ordinances to drink alcohol or have a weapon inside the park.” So . . . no violence to trouble policy makers, then. The next time a CCW holder gets a parking ticket, I’ll be sure to Tweet that back to the VPC. Meanwhile, the po-po blotter has more interesting grist for a gun blogger’s mill . . .

A girl told police that someone smashed a rear sliding glass door at her parents’ home in the 1400 block of West Royal Palm Road and took a flat-screen television, jewelry, a shotgun and money, totaling about $2,450.

At a home in the 200 block of Southwest Third Street, burglars stole a black Benelli M-1 shotgun, a Bushmaster AR-15 [sic], and a Springfield XD .45-caliber handgun after breaking in through a rear kitchen window.

While the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive (and Really Big Fires) spends $207k per weapon to recover 400 illegal weapons that may or may not be headed to Mexican drug gangs, American thieves steal tens of thousands of guns every year. All of which add to this country’s criminal arsenal.

How about we subsidize the gun safe business instead of pissing money down the ATFE-shaped rathole? If the VPC really wants to stop gun violence, offering low-cost gun safes would have more impact than supporting the Agency that Can’t Shoot Straight and/or introducing or tightening gun control legislation.

5 COMMENTS

  1. Florida is a preemption state. It is against state law for WPB to have an ordnance prohibiting possession in a county or city park. He may could be fined for the alcohol in the park but not for having alcohol in coordination with a firearm. I'm betting the po po is just trying to find something to pile on without having a prayer of it sticking in court.

  2. The last thing I want is for the feds to subsidize anything. Besides, the federal government blew all its subsidy money on those analog to digital converters. Remember them? Why they didn't just offer the same coupons to help buyers purchase new TVs is beyond me. It would have accomplished the same purpose, reduced electrical consumption and pumped money into the economy, but that would have required brains.

    Here in the People's Kommonwealth of Massachusetts, we do get a break on gun safes — no sales tax. That saves 6.25%. Hey, it's a start.

  3. Since it's early and I'm in a bad mood –

    The new govt-approved, fully subsidized, safety gun safe. Now with transponder alerts to allow friendly local law enforcement to know when the safe is opened, closed, and locked. Internal sensors will record how many guns are in the safe, and when individual gun transponders are enforced, the exact make and model can be recorded. To enhance safety, a beath-alyzer tube is mandatory. This will override any attempts to open safe if the owner has any trace of alcohol in his system. External lockdown can be enabled by the local law enforcement to enhance safety in times of local crisis, such as a hurricane or rioting. This will prevent excess guns in the hands of citizens, which is known to escalate violence. Lockdowns can be all safes in a general area or single safes. This will allow friendly local law enforcement to lock up guns in the event a restraining order is issued against the owner, or before serving a warrant. All for greater safety. The best part – they’re FREE!

  4. No subsidy is neccessary – gun safe prices have already dropped quite a bit in the last 10 years. You can now buy a decent safe that will hold 10 or more long guns for ~$700 or so.

    IOW, for the price of a low-grade AR or a brand new Glock with a laser sight, you can get a safe that will protect your precious firearms from theives, and fires. Anyone who can afford the AR or the Glock can certainly afford a decent safe.

  5. Actually, there is a few companies that manufacture safes that can be moved around. Zanotti is most likely the best known.

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