February 20, 2013
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Responding to the BCSO “Buy-Back”
——– Original Message ——–
Subject: Responding to the BCSO “Buy-Back”
Date: Wed, 20 Feb 2013 00:19:37
From: Mike Blessing
To: Tom Zdunek, Debbie O’Malley, Art De La Cruz, Maggie Hart Stebbins, Lonnie C. Talbert, Wayne A. Johnson, Dan HoustonDear Commissioners, Mr. Zdunek:
Recently I was surfing the web and found the following:
BernCo Compass: Gun Buybacks, Strip Club Rules and Downtown Housing
Here’s the pertinent part:
Issue: Gun Buyback
The county conducted its first gun buyback day on Saturday, Feb. 9, in the North Valley. People who anonymously surrendered their firearms were compensated – no questions asked. If the weapons were stolen, they were to be returned to their rightful owners. Deputy County Manager Tom Swisstack said the program brought in 333 weapons, seven of which were assault rifles. The $50,000 put up by the county for purchasing the guns ran out within two hours.
Swisstack added that it’s the most successful buyback day in the state so far. He thanked Sheriff Dan Houston for doing an outstanding job, and Commissioner Debbie O’Malley for moving the program forward.
BernCo View
O’Malley thanked everyone for the compliments but said when she got to the North Valley Command Center on Saturday, she was surrounded by other gun traders in the parking lot. They waited outside harassing folks, she said, telling them they would buy the guns for more than the county was paying. She said she was surprised people could do that kind of gun trading in a parking lot without permits.
Swisstack assured that next time, the sheriff would block off the area around the substation. The next buyback day is Saturday, Feb. 23, at the South Area Command Center (2039 Isleta SW).
First, this wasn’t a buy-back event at all – the word “buy-back” assumes that you originally owned them and are buying them back, when the truth is that the firearms purchased by BCSO weren’t owned by Bernalillo County in the first place.
Second, this event was advertised and reported upon as some sort of “public service,” in order to “get the guns off the streets.” This is code-speak from the victim disarmament crowd for getting firearms away from private citizens, whom as “we all know,” “can’t be trusted” with any weapon more powerful than a plastic straw loaded with spitballs.
Third, the ONLY good thing about these “buy-back” events is that BCSO is apparently to return any firearms found to have been stolen back to their rightful owners.
Fourth, considering Tom Swisstack’s anti-Constitutional comments of ” . . . next time, the sheriff would block off the area around the substation,” perhaps it’s time that Bernalillo County picked out a new Deputy County Manager. As well as a new Sheriff if Dan Houston goes along with this.
It seems that I have until 1 May 2014 to gather sufficient signatures to recall Mr. Houston, and 1 May 2016 to do the same for Ms. O’Malley.
_______________________________________________________________________
Mike Blessing / Phone – 505-249-1248
State Chair, Libertarian Party of New Mexico – http://lpnm.usWho owns you? Who runs your life? Who should – you or someone else?
Freedom is the answer – what’s the question?“If you wanna live long on your own terms
You gotta be willing to crash and burn”
– Motley Crue, “Primal Scream”
Copyright © 2013 Libertarian Party of New Mexico, Libertarian Party of Bernalillo County, New Mexico and Mike Blessing. All rights reserved.
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Comments (9)
Who’s life IS it anyway?
To think that people’s property taxes are being wasted so gratuitously.
In other news, the Texas legislature admitted five measures for discussion yesterday that vastly expand the rights of gun owners. I’m beginning to think maybe Texas is a different nation from the rest of you after all.
PS: While I was commenting on this post, I hit some key I didn’t mean to hit and it took me to the Secretary of State homepage. Never seen that before, not sure what that’s about, but … makes one wonder.
…and as they suck our income away and people need more money just to get by, more people will see it as an acceptable or at least an undesirable but necessary option to sell their guns for a little more cash. It’s a two pronged attack - squeeze their income and offer them money for guns.
We need to return to the days of open carry. An armed society is a polite society, as the saying goes. We need more civility, not less, among the people.
I’ve gotten a decent response so far locally – there are a few people who are pissed and want to spread the word and make life miserable for the hoplophobes.
@blonde_apocalypse – If the idiots in Austin would legalize open carry and Constitutional carry, I could see myself living in Texas, especially if Texas lightened up on property taxes. Right now, either Wyoming or Montana looks like the best deal.
@wordwarrior39 – I’ve gone both routes at times – open carry and Constitutional carry. Usually I carry openly in the summer months more than cold times.
When I sent that letter out to the county people, I also BCC’ed it to about 90 Republicans, Tea Party types, etc. (a habit of mine) – one of them got back to me, said he wants to organize some sort of improvised gun show for the traders on nearby privately-owned properties during the BCSO event.
@mikewb1971 - The measures they introduced this week move in that direction. It’s not perfect, but it’s better than a lot of the crap we’ve seen this month. But the property taxes here are egregious. No income tax, though.