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Stolen GUN
marek13
Member Posts: 209 ✭✭✭
Hello. I know this isn't the place to ask this question but please help desperate fellow shooter. My house got burglarized this morning and when the cops came over they saw my MAK90, (I live in New Jersey)they had took it to the station stating that MaK90 is illegal in NJ. I had bought it legally last year and transferred it through my FFL dealer. NOW I gave the detective all transfer papers and copy of my fire arm ID card. Where can I get a official statement stating that MAK90 is legal in NJ and how should go about it to avoid confiscation. I don't understand why they took it away even if I had all papers for it. They stated that the law prohibits all assault weapons in NJ. Please help me with this dilemma.
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
Comments
One thing I have learned over the years: few street cops know the law very well. They know enforcement but little about the law. They enforce the fundamantals as they understand them, but they let the judge and lawyers work out the details. They frequently make errors, but try to error on the side of public safety. I doubt they are intentionally trying to give you a hard time.
Keep us informed on how all this comes out.
Rafter-S
"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)
In order to own an "assault rifle" in New Jersey, it looks like you have to have a special license that shall not be issued unless the court finds "that the public safety and welfare so require."
Before going and talking to the cops and possibly talking yourself into a potential felony, I suggest you go talk to a competent local attorney. I think the NRA keeps a list of attorney if you want to try calling them.
[8D]
Greg
I am not trying to pick a fight but, (a statement which usually does) since some of you wish to express your opinions about cops and their knowledge of the laws I think maybe someone should give food for thought.
When you say that cops don't know enough about the law to make these kinds of decisions you should also say that gunsmiths don't know enough about guns to fix or repair them. (because they don't know every little detail) Or maybe even that preachers don't know enough about the bible to give sermons. (because they don't know every verse)
While it may be true that not all cops know every detail of all the laws, statutes or ordinances they have a lot better knowledge of it than the general citizen and this is their career. You have made a character assignation of a profession that is truly an opinion and it is unfair. While it is true that most cops do not know alot of case law, court opinions or journal entries, which are a part of the law, most cops do have a good understanding of the basic requirements of lawful and unlawful. They have to make decisions based on knowledge and experience and usually in a matter of seconds or even minutes.
As a cop, law enforcement officer, I put on my pants one leg at a time but I also equip myself with the power of life and death and place my self in the public eye and take my life and lives of everyone I encounter into my hands. I am willing to lay my life on the line for you and those you love and freely do so that we may live in a society that is fair and equal in safety to all.
Knowing the law and enforcing it equally is my job and I take great pride in it.
Please think about these things when you make posts and make character assignations of a given profession.
Thanks for your time in reading this and have a nice day.
257
You're a statistic whether you want to be or not.
quote:Originally posted by 257izmycal
To Whom It May Concern:
I am not trying to pick a fight but, (a statement which usually does) since some of you wish to express your opinions about cops and their knowledge of the laws I think maybe someone should give food for thought.
When you say that cops don't know enough about the law to make these kinds of decisions you should also say that gunsmiths don't know enough about guns to fix or repair them. (because they don't know every little detail) Or maybe even that preachers don't know enough about the bible to give sermons. (because they don't know every verse)
While it may be true that not all cops know every detail of all the laws, statutes or ordinances they have a lot better knowledge of it than the general citizen and this is their career. You have made a character assignation of a profession that is truly an opinion and it is unfair. While it is true that most cops do not know alot of case law, court opinions or journal entries, which are a part of the law, most cops do have a good understanding of the basic requirements of lawful and unlawful. They have to make decisions based on knowledge and experience and usually in a matter of seconds or even minutes.
As a cop, law enforcement officer, I put on my pants one leg at a time but I also equip myself with the power of life and death and place my self in the public eye and take my life and lives of everyone I encounter into my hands. I am willing to lay my life on the line for you and those you love and freely do so that we may live in a society that is fair and equal in safety to all.
Knowing the law and enforcing it equally is my job and I take great pride in it.
Please think about these things when you make posts and make character assignations of a given profession.
Thanks for your time in reading this and have a nice day.
257
You're a statistic whether you want to be or not.
I caught your note yesterday and have thought about it quite a bit. As a one-time New Yorker, I can sympathize with people who have difficulty with well-meaning but stupid gun laws.
There are several possibilities. First of all, if you are correct, and you are entitled to have the AK, it will still take a lawyer to get it back, and he will certainly charge you a lot more than the $300 or so that the gun is worth.
Secondly, in the event that your purchase was not legal (even if innocently violated), consider yourself lucky if your only loss is the gun. It is entirely possible that you could be arrested and criminally charged for a firearms violation. You might be able to beat the charges, but again it will require an attorney (who will not work for free) and cost you lots of bucks and/or a criminal record.
My best advice to you (friendly, not legal) is to consider the gun a loss, and LEAVE NEW JERSEY before they come for you. Move to a state that is still free!
Morty
Have fun, be careful!
I`m an FFL Dealer in NJ and to put your mind a little at ease, the MAK 90 is legal for sale in NJ along with the AR15 and the M1A1/M14, the only reason they were aloud for sale in NJ was because it was the Attorney Generals opinion that they should not be classified as assualt weapons, but if there is a call of Domestic violence,or any other problem and they do find it, they will take it and you will have to get a lawyer to fight it and it will be returned, I do recamend you call Evan Nappen, he is the authority in NJ on gun,knife and weapons laws...His number is 732-389-8888 he can deffinetly help you..
DO RIGHT GUNSMITH, INC.
Harsh words? I think not. I've NEVER been treated with any real civility when I've gone down to the cop-shop to register my pistols like the good citizen I am, despite my going in with a big cheerful smile and lots of "thank-yous" and "yes-sirs". And NO, it HASN'T been the same officer each time....
Rafter-S
"What is truth? No wonder jesting Pilate turned away. The truth, it has a thousand faces -- show only one of them, and the whole truth flies away! But how to show the whole? That is the question."
--Thomas Wolfe, "You Can't Go Home Again" (1934)
I wish you the best of luck. Those who have advised you to seek legal assistance are the most well informed. As for anyone who would defend the average cop on the street and his/her level of knowledge, they are deluding themselves and offending the rest of us. I just quit working for a gun shop that decided to hire a bunch of off duty cops. Well, some of them weren't even "off-duty". They had the nerve to park their cruisers in the parking lot of a shopping mall, with a dog in the back seat, not even in their jurisdiction and tell the rest of us who worked there to lie about it if anyone asked. I got tired of hearing about how they pulled over some guy and couldn't find anything to cite so they threw an empty beer can in the back seat and cited them for open container. One fellow recently had a similar experience. He reported his AR-15 stolen and when the cops showed up to "investigate" he had all the proper forms and registrations ready to show them. Unfortunately for this well meaning citizen, as he was showing the cops the safe that had been smashed, they noticed two high cap magazines that this guy hadn't "registered." You guessed it. They immediately forgot the fact there was an illegal AR on the streets and ran this guy in for having the two magazines. The horror stories could go on without end. The bottom line is that after spending 40 years in the firearms industry, I've come to understand that as a general rule, 9 out of 10 cops are more of a danger to themselves and the community than they are any help. They may talk a good talk about serving and protecting, but in reality they are there to file reports and take names. And if your's happens to be one of the names they take, whoa is you. The fact is that most cops don't know anything beyond the most basic rules of law they learn in the academy or whatever training they receive. And that failure is only the start of it. I can't tell you the number of times that I've had to explain to some cop why there isn't any paper work on a BB gun and what the difference was between an air rifle and a 30-06 but it's well into the hundreds. Anyone who has the ambition to call him/herself a gunsmith and hang out a sign with all the legal ramifications is far more qualified in that field than the average cop is in his/hers. They rely on the good will of the community and the protection of the courts to keep them out of trouble. The rest of us have to hire lawyers to defend and protect the rights the cops abuse. And when you point this out to them, their standard response is to call you names or arrest you or both. So, as others have urged, don't show up at the police station trying to get your weapon back without a lawyer--a very good lawyer--at your side. Oh, I forgot, there is another track you might try. If you know somebody who is a cop, somebody you know real well, you might ask him/her to get it back for you. Cops treat other members of the brotherhood different than they treat the rest of us who pay their salaries. Good Luck --