Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

You commit three felonies a day

kottke.org

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

151–160 of 172 posts

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#151

Post by jlgreco »

jboggan wrote: post #82
thebooktocome wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can purchase firearms for cash from many dealers (at gun shows) without either a background check or a paper trail.

Not true. If the purchase is from an actual dealer with a Federal Firearms License then a 4473 (ATF form) must be filled out and an accompanying background check will be made. If the purchase is between two non-dealers then there is no requirement in many states for a background check or paperwork, so long as both are residents of the same state the transaction occurs in. However, all new guns are (since 1968) purcha…

> However, all new guns are (since 1968) purchased from a licensed dealer, so there is always the beginning of a paper trail.

My understanding is that there is technically an exception to this where you can manufacture your own firearms so long as you stay under the yearly limit and do not manufacture them with the intent of distributing them. Once you have done so, you can then distribute them as a private citizen.

That reads weird because the legality of distributing it depends on if you can assert that distribution was not your intent when you made it. This means this is probably not a very practical exception, as it potentially involves you arguing something rather nebulous in court.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#152

Post by mikeash »

542458 wrote: post #150
mikeash wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm... does the NRA keep a registry of its members?

A voluntary registry, but point still taken.

Yeah, I'm not trying to point out hypocrisy or anything silly like that. Still, it does seem at odds. Certainly, if I were running an oppressive government in the US, the list of NRA members would be top priority.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#153

Post by ccera »

njharman wrote: post #117
Kiro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

Without knowing what you do, it's impossible to say. Did you have sex before the age of 18? You've committed statutory rape. You've probably violated copyright many times. You've probably violated the computer access law many times (forget name but violate a eula/TOS and you are in violation). Ever sell anything or make any money (say a bet between friends) and not report it on your tax return?

The book's ridiculous claim is that you commit three felonies per day? So to rephrase your question, you should have asked "how many times per day do you travel back in time to commit statutory rape?"

Your examples aren't very strong anyway.

Having sex before the age of 18 is usually not statutory rape, if the person you're having sex with is also under 18.

Very few copyright violations meet the standard for criminal charges. Casual copyright violation is not a felony.

You don't have to report anything on your tax return when you sell personal items for less than you originally paid for them. And not all tax code violations are felonies anyway.

Etc.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#154

Post by na85 »

jbooth wrote: post #134
gambiting wrote: post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These are not differences, these are similarities. Think about it for a second. Soviets had you register with the police where you were going, because there was no centralised database with that information. Today, the US government achieves exactly same result, but without making you go to the police station to register. Wherever you go, they can access your location on your phone, read your licence plates with stre…

They aren't similarities. The fundamental goal is different. Registering where you're going, warnings that the phone call is being recorded, those things are about FEAR . It's deliberately letting you know that the government is in the driver's seat and you shouldn't even get started with counter-revolutionary thoughts. The information gathering is secondary. Tiananmen square has probably more than 1 video camera per…

Both governments want control. One is more willing to publicize that fact.

I see great similarity.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#155

Post by ensignavenger »

mikeash wrote: post #84
danso wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've become more bearish about the idea of electronic medical records. The ability for a bureaucracy to keep those safe seems far, far off in the future, no matter what technology advances come through. And guns: well, if you're pro-gun-control, this mindset (justified or not) should help you understand why the NRA is so passionately against gun registration of any kind. In terms of the NSA: I don't think they care m…

Still can't understand why gun registration is supposed to be so awful but car registration is apparently perfectly fine.

You only have to register your car if you plan to drive in on public roads. Most gun registration proposals would require registration whether or not you were using the gun on public lands. You already have to have a hunting permit to hunt on public lands (or to take publicly owned wildlife on private land) in most states. The purpose behind gun registration is very different.

If you don't think gun registries would be abused in the US- look at the State of Missouri recently leaking its CCW database to the IRS and even worse- look at what happened in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina in Louisianna, where guns were stolen by armed members of the military from law-abiding citizens.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#156

Post by guizzy »

taoufix wrote: post #34
Kiro wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, I want to know what felonies I commit.

Maybe one of these: * Illegal downloads. * Forwarding a corporate email. * Some weird term of service in one of the dozen "I read and accept these terms" check-boxes you clicked.

Breaking TOS is not a felony or even criminal; it's at best a civil court case.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#157

Post by mikeash »

ensignavenger wrote: post #155
mikeash wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still can't understand why gun registration is supposed to be so awful but car registration is apparently perfectly fine.

You only have to register your car if you plan to drive in on public roads. Most gun registration proposals would require registration whether or not you were using the gun on public lands. You already have to have a hunting permit to hunt on public lands (or to take publicly owned wildlife on private land) in most states. The purpose behind gun registration is very different. If you don't think gun registries would…

I've seen that "public roads" thing mentioned a lot. In practice, I don't see how it matters: to a very good approximation, nobody buys a car not to drive it on public roads.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#158

Post by rsync »

menubar wrote: post #44
ck2 wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Hmm, well "muslim" isn't a nationality, it's a religion almost as big as christianity. is he an American citizen? Because otherwise that is profiling. They don't show up and ask others if there is any problems at their church or anyone using hate speech about the government at the church.

almost as big? check your data.

"almost as big?"

You're right - it's actually only 2/3 as big.

Thanks.

Re: You commit three felonies a day

#160

Post by shpxnvz »

bmelton wrote: post #51
300bps wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work with a Muslim from Yemen at an investment bank. He's as American as anyone I know but be recently got a gun permit and got a visit from the FBI about a week later. They wanted to know if he felt threatened, if there were problems at his Mosque, why he wanted a gun, if there was anyone at his Mosque who used hate speech, etc. Something tells me he government knows if you have a gun.

I can say with certainty that as of 6 years ago, 4473 checks were not retained in any way by the ATF or the federal government. There are local copies of the paperwork retained the FFL in which the sale took place, and those are required to be kept for a period of time and, should the FFL ever close shop, those records are shipped to the ATF, possibly revealing record data to them, but at least at the point of the NI…

> I can say with certainty that as of 6 years ago, 4473 checks were not retained in any way by the ATF or the federal government.

To clarify, are you saying that no government entity retains either the 4473 or the NICS check records, or are you only speaking about the 4473 itself?

Post reply on HN