Comments | hradzka: the Pittsburgh shooting

hradzka

the Pittsburgh shooting

Apr 05, 2009 16:32

Looking at the case of police officers who were murdered in Pittsburgh, I'm noticing some interesting stuff coming out. Richard Poplawski, the perpetrator, allegedly opened fire immediately on officers entering the home he shared with his mother. Reportedly, his dog peed on the carpet, and Poplawski's mother got angry and told him she was going ( Read more... )

guns, news

Comments 7

trinfaneb April 6 2009, 00:12:31 UTC

I didn't know that dishonorable discharges meant that you couldn't legally own guns. How about bulletproof vests? I've lost track of the laws governing them.

hradzka April 6 2009, 03:00:17 UTC

I didn't know either, but apparently federal law comes down on it, if you read the fine print on the 4473.

No idea on bulletproof vests. They're charging him on it as a criminal device; not sure how the legalities work there.

cyano April 6 2009, 13:59:11 UTC

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09096/960913-53.stm

I don't have much in the way of words about this, other than the obvious.

hradzka April 6 2009, 15:59:53 UTC

What a piece of work that guy and his mom are.

Article says he was "buying and selling guns online." That'd be illegal for him. If he was using gunbroker or something like that, he'd have to go through a licensed dealer anyway, and the background check should have stopped him there.

I am really curious about where he got the firearms. My five bucks says that the best friend white supremacist who's quoted in a few articles did some straw purchasing for him. Felony, big-time.

cyano April 6 2009, 17:18:36 UTC

It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

And I don't buy the thing about missing his girlfriend and planning to get kicked out of the USMC.

The Marines like em gung-ho, but loose cannons are right out. I am sure that he threw up red flags before assaulting his drill instructor.

burger_eater April 6 2009, 16:12:37 UTC

If he made a straw purchase, then the guy who made it for him is going up the river, big-time.

And deservedly so.

hradzka April 6 2009, 23:28:08 UTC

Ohhhhhhh, yeah.

I didn't realize this about Pennsylvania: apparently, they ban intrastate private sales between individuals. Most states don't. So, for example, I could buy my .44 Magnum off the guy in my NRA instructor class, because both of us live in Florida -- that's a private sale. But if I was selling a gun from my collection and you wanted to buy it, we'd have to get a gun dealer to handle the transfer on each end, because that's interstate commerce.

So, basically, there is no earthly way that guy should have had those guns. At all.