Tucson Pays for Scofflaw Actions to Destroy Guns

By Dean Weingarten

Colt Python turned in to be destroyed by Tucson in 2013, Worth about $3,000
Dean Weingarten
Dean Weingarten

Arizona -(Ammoland.com)- In September, 2017, the City of Tucson taxpayers agreed to pay the State of Arizona for the legal fees required to stop the City Council from violating State law. 

The Council had required that legal, valuable firearms be destroyed rather than sold for the benefit of the public. Even liberal academics understand that is a waste of valuable resources.

In 2012, Arizona made the wasteful practice of destroying valuable firearms illegal for local governments.

From AZCDL.org:

This legislation was a follow-up to a 2010 law that required forfeited firearms to be sold to authorized dealers and not be scrapped. Unfortunately, there was a provision in the law that allowed local jurisdictions to determine the disposition of forfeited firearms they acquired. Sadly, this resulted in the loss of revenue to many police departments, short of cash because of ideology based decisions to destroy these firearms. Under the new law, after 60 days unclaimed firearms that can be legally owned must be sold to a business authorized to receive and dispose of fire-arms under state and federal law, for sale to the public. Law enforcement agencies also have the option to trade forfeited firearms to federally licensed dealers for guns, ammo or other law enforcement equipment.

The Council become scofflaws in 2012. Over the next few years they destroyed hundreds of thousands of dollars of valuable property. In addition, they wasted City money in a needless court battle with the State of Arizona.

From tucson.com:

A settlement with Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich will have the city of Tucson shelling out $100,000 to cover the state’s legal fees for the court fight that ended the city’s practice of destroying seized firearms.

The figure is identical to the amount the city had estimated it would earn annually in auctioning seized firearms to licensed gun dealers.

The City Council spent tens of thousands more dollars fighting the state before the case went to the Arizona Supreme Court.  It spent thousands to illegally destroy the 4,820 firearms from 2013 to 2016. Those firearms could have been sold for about a half a million dollars.

A reasonable estimate is that the Tucson City Council wasted $750,000 for nothing more than making propaganda to show they disapprove of the private ownership of guns.

The seven Democrats on the city council do not have a problem wasting other people’s money.  Wasting other peoples money can be attractive, if it serves your political purposes. It can make you look attractive to Democrat donors. It can work with other politicians as well, but you do not see many Republicans campaigning to destroy valuable firearms at government expense.

There are the deep pockets of Democrat donors, such as former Mayor, Michael Bloomberg. He has spent hundreds of millions of dollars attempting to undermine the Second Amendment. Democrats who demonstrate their deep commitment to destroying firearms, might obtain some of that money for their relection campaigns.

It will be interesting to see if any of Michael Bloomberg’s money ends up in the campaign coffers of Tucson City Council.

©2017 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.

Link to Gun Watch

 

About Dean Weingarten:

Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of constitutional carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and recently retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.

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JL Spinks

It is true. The Tucson City Clowns are not elected by ward, but by the city at large. Since the there is a large illegal population on the west side and massive voter fraud at the U of A, the DumbocRATS, always win even though they lose in the ward they are running for. If the Clowns were elected by ward, it would be a majority Republican city government

John Dow

When states write preemption laws, they should add that any costs incurred in defending violations will be born personally by all those responsible for the violating ordinance. That will put council members and mayors on notice that they must uphold the law, or pay the penalty (fees) themselves.

Could the citizens of Tuscon file a class action suit against the city council/mayor for malfeasance or dereliction of duty?

Jim

Well, I’m happy for Arizona that the State is on the side of the People, Law and the Constitution. Here in New York State we have Governor Cuomo and Attorney General Schneiderman against the People, Law and the Constitution. Every chance they get they steal more and more of the Second Amendment from the People (using the People’s money to do it). They violate our privacy by having doctors and hospitals report to the State Police that stress medication was prescribed (State Police then show up at your door and take your rifles and pistols away as now you are… Read more »

Samuel Stephens

The DemocRATs have no conscience when breaking state law , Constitutional law, IRS laws, they are also good at spending other peoples monies , destroying Constitutional rights, in general the DemocRATs are criminals who haven’t been caught and locked up yet. Lock’em all up and throw away the keys, buy the way keep the sexes seperate cause they breed like rats.

Wild Bill

The state of Az got their reimbursement. All the lawyers got paid. The people of Tucson had to pay, and lost revenues from sales that could have been. And the $hitty council keeps their jobs, paychecks, and savings. Once again, the little people pay.

David Nagel Sr

It’s called “Elect someone who can recognize and follow the law” if you Don’t want to have your tax money wasted.

john

people with common sence have jobs and don,t run for office.all we get is the pick of the litter,and I do mean litter.

Wild Bill

@David N. My one little vote keeps getting cancelled by those thousands of illegal aliens’ votes. I suspect that is true in Tucson, too.

tomcat

@ Wild Bill, their motto is vote early and often.