Mass. Gets Electronic Gun Fingerprinting

[Tab]

BOSTON - With a quick electronic scan of a fingerprint, gun shop owners in Massachusetts will know immediately if a customer is eligible to buy a weapon, using a system that officials say is the first of its kind in the nation.

The Massachusetts Instant Record Check System, developed over the past six years with nearly $7 million in technology grant money, will be in place in all police departments and gun shops across the state by next summer. It is currently operating in three shops and about 140 police departments.

The system gives police and gun-shop owners instant access to updated information about arrest warrants and restraining orders which was not readily accessible under the old paperwork-intensive system.
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"This enables us to make sure that the only people bearing arms in the commonwealth have the right to bear arms," he said.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=&e=13&u=/ap/20041202/ap_on_bi_ge/guns_fingerprints

[AndyTiedye]

1. I Thought They Were "Fingerprinting" the Gun...

...presumably by test-firing it and saving the bullets for later
comparison with crime-scene bullets. (Can that be done?)

The headline is misleading.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. sure they can...

but you may be the first person to think of it. Every bullet would be a clue; the person who owns the gun. I wonder how many more crimes would be solved. Good job! :toast:

[NickB79]

5. Actually, its not nearly that simple

Every time you fire a gun, you send a column of burning gas down the barrel to propel the bullet. This hot gas can and does eat away at the rifling inside the gun barrel. The more the gun is fired, the more the rifling is eroded away. A bullet saved by the manufacturer, and then compared to a bullet fired from that same gun after firing several hundred to several thousand rounds, would not be as easily identified as most people think. Then, you introduce the almost certainty that a different brand of bullet will be fired in the gun than those used by the factory (unless it is an uncommon caliber) since there are dozens of different ammunition makers available in the US, and even more problems arise.

And BTW, since most guns used in crimes are stolen guns, how does ID'ing the guy it was stolen from help solve a crime? We trace the gun back to someone who had it stolen two years before, and we're still nowhere in finding out who the shooter was.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. I bow to your superior knowledge. n/t

[Occulus]

2. Compare, contrast....

"This enables us to make sure that the only people bearing arms in the commonwealth have the right to bear arms," he said."

to

"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed." <--- period

[DoNotRefill]

4. Uh huh.....you have to be fingerprinted to exercise your rights....

Let's see....apply that principle to voting, and see how popular it is.

The Right to Keep And Bear Arms is a right, and now they're making people submit to fingerprinting to exercise it. Don't think they'll ever do the same with your other rights? Heh. BOHICA.

[Jack_DeLeon]

6. We dont need no stinking national ID card...

I guess the police wont be asking us for our papers after all.

They will just ask us for our thumbs instead. :eyes:

[neweurope]

8. Commonwealth?

"This enables us to make sure that the only people bearing arms in the commonwealth have the right to bear arms,"

English isn't my native language... is it normal to use the term "Commonwealth" in this context? My first idea was Oh my God, now we dont't have to only be scared of the US but of a whole commonwealth... US, Canada, Brits & Australia...

[neweurope]

9. *stubbornly pulls this back up*

Commonwealth? Is that a normal term in this context? Please, somebody explain! *smiles hopefully*

[Eugene]

10. He means the Commonweath (State) of Massachusetts

Massachusetts and a few other states
call themselves commonwealths.
Mr. Flynn's choice of words here
is confusing.

[neweurope]

12. Thanks Eugene :)

*wipes sweat off forehead* Well, I guess the US alone are dangerous enough...

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tempest]

13. His post had NOTHING to do with guns

I foresee a tombstone in your future.

[chuckrocks]

14. baaa baaaa

you sound like my sheep of a neighbor.
enjoy your stay!