ex soldier faces jail for handing in gun to police station

**Rivington** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 11:20am

Strict liability laws are awful. The US has some. Many statutory rape laws, for example, are strict liability. It doesn't matter if you thought the person you were having sex with was of the age of consent, if his or her parents told you, if he or she produced seemingly legal ID etc.

As far as dethlok's question—the US consulate would likely intervene in that hypothetical, but yes, if you're just wandering around in Country X you are under their laws even if you don't know anything about them. That's Foreign Travel 101.

**vigilus** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 6:15pm

In Canada there was a gun amnesty. Not sure the exact timings but basically say from 9am to 5 pm you could come and turn in unwanted guns that werent registered and police would destroy them to get them off the streets (actually police usually turn around and resell them, anyways)
Buddy shows up at 830am with a gun to turn in- blamo he gets changed for possessing whatever.

Shitty deal

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 7:07pm

Wow. Even Chicago won't do that.

Well, hasn't done that. Yet. As far as I know.

However, there are a few U.S. cases along similar lines, though not exactly analogous. The one that comes to mind was a case of inheritance. A man left his grandson a .22 rifle. The grandson took possession of the rifle, not realizing that it had a barrel shorter than 16 inches--or that such a short barrel made it a federally-controlled item under the NFA '34. Since grandpa hadn't registered the gun when it was created (he probably cut it off himself when he was a kid for use on rats and other pests around home) it was now a felony to possess it.

When the kid and his mother found out about the law, they attempted to turn it in and were arrested. However, I believe cooler heads did prevail in that case and the charges were eventually dropped.

**Kovacs** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 7:08pm

This story sounds odd. This country has weapon amnestys too and the police generally act positively when any weapons are handed in, even without a reason, there shouldn't be much of a problem here. It jumped pretty quickly into the crown court as well. I think either the story wasn't reported correctly or the facts are wrong.

So far that story only takes the mans word for what happened before he entered the police station, no one knows if it was ever in his garden or how long he had it before hand.

To give him the benefit of the doubt for now though though I hope the judge discards it when it comes to sentancing.

**Don Gwinn** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 7:12pm

You have a point. In a country where you can hand in your mom's kitchen knives in an amnesty to get weapons off the street, insufficient dedication to the amnesty lifestyle is not the issue.

**vigilus** · Posted On: 11/23/2009 8:22pm

Originally Posted by Don Gwinn

In a country where you can hand in your mom's kitchen knives in an amnesty to get weapons off the street

Sorry DG, are you being sarcastic??

**honesty** · Posted On: 11/24/2009 2:17am

Originally Posted by GuiltySpark

Sorry DG, are you being sarcastic??

Unfortunately not: http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice...ifeamnesty.htm

Theres been others as well.

**JudOWNED** · Posted On: 11/24/2009 6:07am

Um, guys, for those of you all "HURBLE GURBLE, YOU LIBERAL COMMIE GUN GRABBER" to Honesty, this...

Now, is the law just? Thats a different question and not one I have in any way approached.

...Is actually true.

**liokault** · Posted On: 12/10/2009 4:00pm

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...un-nearby.html

Man hands in gun to police and isn't arrested in "UK gun law proves to be reasonable" shocker.

I think there is more to the story in the OP than is being reported. Anyway, its friday night, I'm off down the pub to cause an argument and revel in my virtually zero chance of being shot.