Seattle City Council Votes to Destroy $30,000 of Police Guns Each Year

Sometimes, reality approximates buffoonery.  The Seattle City Council has unanimously decided to waste $30,000 a year.  It is not exactly clear why.  The easiest way to describe it might be a sacrifice to the gods of political correctness. From seattletimes.com:

The Seattle Police Department will begin melting down its unused guns rather than selling them, ending a practice that brought in about $30,000 a year.

The resolution Monday was a slight change of plans — the City Council was expected to vote on a resolution saying the guns would be sold only to other law-enforcement agencies, but Councilmember Tim Burgess amended the resolution, which then passed unanimously.

To attempt to understand the rational involved, consider the response from Seattle Mayor Ed Murray.  He was questioned by a kiro7.com reporter. From kiro7.com:

“Why give away that money?” KIRO 7 asked Murray.

“You know what costs this city? Is violence. Is gun violence. Is crimes involving guns,” he said. “And it’s costing this nation an incredible amount of money.”

“Why introduce this resolution? Is this really a problem for SPD?” KIRO 7 asked.

“So, gun(s) and gun violence is a huge problem for every city in America and mayors around the country are struggling with what I’m struggling with: How do we reduce the number of guns when Congress won’t act? When state legislatures often don't act?” he said.

The Mayor made an addition point, that was supposed to mean something.

“They may be part of a crime in another city,” he said. “The point is, -- we are not an island.”

It is funny, but the Mayor of Honolulu said almost exactly the same thing as the Seattle Mayor, but left off the "we are not an island"  motto.  Last year Honolulu destroyed over half a million dollars worth of police guns.  They did so after other police agencies begged them for the firearms.  The Honolulu Mayor did not even have the "we are not an island" excuse!

The Mayor, Ed Murray's premise is "less guns, less crime".  He says "gun crime", but that makes no sense by itself.  If reducing guns increases the overall crime rate, what good is it?  But the number of guns in the United States has been skyrocketing, while the crime rate has been plummeting, including the "gun crime" rate.  At minimum, there is no direct relationship between the number of guns and "gun crime".

Ed Murray's response reveals the anti gun culture agenda. He wants to reduce the number of guns.  How can that be accomplished without taking away peoples' guns?  Yet those opposed to the gun culture piously intone "no one wants to take your guns!"  Seattle Mayor Ed Murray clearly does.

In this case exactly zero will be accomplished.  The police guns would have gone into the legal market.  Washington State passed a referendum last year requiring that all gun sales go through Federally licensed dealers.  The guns from the police would be sold just like any new gun.  They would be competeing for gun purchaser dollars.  Instead of the money going to gun manufacturers, the money would go to the benefit of the taxpayers of Seattle.  Gun manufacturers must secretly love this kind of action.  It is cash in their pocket.

Why not apply the same lack of logic to cars?  We should destroy all police cars rather than sell them to the public, because one might be used in a crime someday.  Why not forfeited cash?  It should be burned, because a criminal might use some of it someday.

Perhaps the old adage should be revised.  It is not just "easy to spend other people's money".  It is easy to "throw away other peoples money".

It is not required to be economically ignorant and financially irresponsible to be a Seattle Mayor or on the Seattle City Council.  Not required; but with a unanimous vote, it seems very common.


©2016 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
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