Firt Arrest in NY?

[Jrlobo]

I see more than one criminal here. Not just the "idiot", but the cop too. We've all claimed that these laws would turn normally law-abiding citizens into felons. Well, here you have a good example. Entrapment is quite evident here when someone poses to be someone they are not and adds lies about who he is. The cop lies that he is a felon to raise the stakes against the idiot. If the cop just goes through with the sale, then that to me is a sting. When the cop embellished the story that he was a felon, that added to the basic state charge and rose to the federal level. Did the feds agree to that beforehand? Who authorized the cop to do that? This isn't funny folks. We here in Maryland are about to experience similar tactics when the Democrats get their way (and they will). Some of us in the past indicated that we would use the secondary market for our gun supplies: CAVEAT EMPTOR!

[TAB]

This guy is a idiot, plain and simple.

[JLawson]

Entrapment is quite evident here when someone poses to be someone they are not and adds lies about who he is.

That's just the definition of 'undercover'.  Mr. Wassell's attorney may try to do something with an entrapment defense but they will have to show that the investigator induced Wassell to commit an offense that he would otherwise not have committed.  His defense will have to show that Wassell had no predisposition or prior intent to sell those items.  Given the jurisdiction and timing of the crime, I doubt that he would get very far with an argument of entrapment.

[Jrlobo]

Well, in my opinion, when the state cop adds a lie to induce a crime for which he has no jurisdiction...e.g. a federal offense...then I consider that to be entrapment. To claim that the idiot "intended" to commit a federal crime is a stretch, but he certainly was induced to do so. All he intended was to sell weapons. I'm not arguing that the guy was not an idiot; he was. There is a fine line not to be crossed when doing stings and a good lawyer will point that out. I'm still waiting for the rest of the story.

[TAB]

i am pretty sure in ny, all sales must go thru a dealer.   so he was going to break the law anyways.

[Sponsor]

[Jrlobo]

TAB,

     Yup! Frankly don't much care what happens to him at this stage. I'm more interested (1) in the tactics that will be used against us and (2) seeing what side the leo's are going to take. Think I know and it saddens me to no end. Trust no one? That is just what the anti-gunners want us to do!

[tombogan03884]

There is the key right there!  People break the law.  In a nation of presumed innocence gun owners are all considered guilty.  There will always be law breakers in all areas of life.  

Did he break the law?  Yes he did!  Did the current law stop him from breaking the law?  No it didn't.  Will more and more restrictive laws stop a person in this mindset?  Think about it!  He is criminal and not willing to live within the law ... Doh!

We need to include the fact that we are not the criminals, and that the majority should not be punished for the actions of a small portion of society.

M58 misses one of the more effective points of his own post.
Did the stricter laws deter him ?
Not at all, they added the incentive of higher profit that may have been the deciding factor in his actions.
Do restrictions deter crime ?
No, they encourage them.

[fightingquaker13]

Yup. Want to take a dangerous item and lose all control over who gets it and under what circumstances with no diminution of its availability? Ban it! CF prohibition, the drug war and prohibitive cigarette taxes. What makes them think guns will be any different? Pity the poor politician. He thinks his laws outweigh the market. Will these fools ever learn?

[MikeBjerum]

I didn't miss it Tom.  A criminal has many reasons to commit crime, and I chose not to make a list for each point.

[tombogan03884]

Yup. Want to take a dangerous item and lose all control over who gets it and under what circumstances with no diminution of its availability? Ban it! CF prohibition, the drug war and prohibitive cigarette taxes. What makes them think guns will be any different? Pity the poor politician. He thinks his laws outweigh the market. Will these fools ever learn?

Considering they have about 4,000 years of human experience to draw on and continue to make the same mistakes again and again I'd say probably not.