York Daily Record: Lost & Stolen Gun law won't scare scarecrows

It seems that while the York City Council is having trouble understanding why Lost & Stolen legislation is both ineffective and illegal, the York Daily Record understands clearly:

The Scarecrow wasn't exactly a genius -- that's why the straw man wanted a brain.

Likewise, it seems that most "straw purchasers" -- people who buy guns for bad guys -- have heads more full of hay matter than gray matter.

And so you have to wonder: Does York city really need a complicated new law to torch them?

That's the question before the York City Council next week. Members are scheduled to vote on an ordinance requiring people to report lost or stolen guns within 72 hours after they discover them missing.

Maybe that seems like common sense -- hardly the kind of thing you'd need a law for. Good citizens who have legally purchased firearms would be foolish not to call police if their guns are stolen. That's just what you do when something gets stolen.

But should it be illegal to fail to do so? Should we run the risk of criminalizing people who, say, have a gun stolen, perhaps by "friends" or family members, who don't even know their weapons are missing, if they fail to report the loss or theft?

Isn't that a little like victimizing the victim?

Hopefully such common sense will be contagious.

[Via InYork.com]