Well this is scarey. Last friday we were told five members of rival outlaw motorcycle gangs operating in Fort McMurray had been arrested. Now we are told by the Alberta Gang task force that the investigation is in relation to an alleged conflict between the Fort McMurray chapters of the Warlocks and the Syndicate, a Hells Angels support club.
On September 21, 2016 four search warrants were executed and five members of the Warlocks were arrested. The search warrants were conducted on three vehicles and a Fort McMurray home, which is alleged to be the de facto Warlocks clubhouse. As result of the searches, investigators seized: Seven Warlocks vests; Warlocks club documents and paraphernalia; 15 rifles and shotguns; Glock handgun; Other prohibited weapons, including brass knuckles and bear spray.
All of the 16 firearms seized were lawfully possessed and there are no firearms charges being sought at this time. However, the firearms were seized in the interest of public safety and ALERT will be applying for their destruction. Five members of the Warlocks were arrested and charged with committing an indictable offence for a criminal organization, robbery, and possession of a prohibited weapon:
WTF?! Did you read what that actually said?! Five members of the Warlocks have been arrested for owning gungs lawfully obtained and properly stored in a gun safe. How the f*ck can they seize those guns and arrest them when they did nothing illegal. This is George Orwell scarey. I was talking with a couple of guys that give firearm courses a while ago. They said that often the police will wait until your firearm liscnce expires then right away go in and seize all your guns only to brag to the media that they got a bunch of illegal weapons off the street.
They seized patches when no drugs were found? I do think the Alberta Gang task force is doing a great job. This however, is one example of how a good idea can go bad when they cross the line and go too far. Remember when they started randomly seizing registered guns in Alberta during a flood? When the police break the law, it harms all of us.
these guys are not nice boys. wonder what you would have written had they used their guns for some of the activities these types of gangs use guns for.
ReplyDeleteI've got no problem with them seizing the guns. Of course I'm not a gun rights advocate except for not having them around. It is doubtful they were going to be using them to harvest wild life for eating. Good on the task force.
"Often the police will wait until your firearm liscnce expires then right away go in and seize all your guns only to brag to the media that they got a bunch of illegal weapons off the street."
ReplyDeleteColor me shocked.... :rolleyes:
It will be interesting to see if the court allows this. While I don't know that members of OMG's need to be able to legally own firearms, Canadian law is different, there is of course not a right protected by the Charter to own one. Even in the States a convicted felon cannot possess a firearm. So, assuming their conviction on other charges, possible this can be the rationale. Problem here is, the police seem to be putting the cart before the horse. Possibly the judge will see it that way too, for the moment, and reserve judgement on the application until after the trial on other charges, possibly imposing a weapons ban as part of sentencing. Typically these are for a certain period of time, a lifetime ban is not always the result. As such, they would have the option of storing the weapon with a licensed dealer for that time until they could legally possess it again, or disposing of it through a dealer to realize the monetary benefit of their (previously) lawfully held property.
Lots of guns there in Ft. Mac when I was there as a kid in the early-mid 70's. It was not uncommon for a 10-12 yr old boy to have his own .22 rifle, maybe even a Winchester-Cooey single shot shotgun. You could buy a newly sporterized surplus .303 rifle and 2 boxes of shells at the hardware store near the Peter Pond Hotel for $19.95 in the fall, but you didn't want to be in the woods within 5 miles of town during hunting season for all the city folks new to the woods who decided it would be a great idea to go moose hunting. (trucked in meat was expensive) No mandatory Hunter/Conservation course back then. One guy was so happy to find a moose he shot it while it was standing in 3-4 feet of water. You can guess how well that turned out....
Always remember, registration = confiscation.
always remember confiscation = one less gun out there and one less chance of some one being shot and killed.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly what Hitler and Chairman Mao said.
DeleteWe also might want to remember Hitler was "elected' to office. the Germans were looking for "change". it is doubtful if people had gun, anything would have changed. We have only to look at the countries he invaded. Guns would not have helped people at all. The Warsaw Ghetto had guns, and it didn't help, of course then neither did the rest of the Poles.
ReplyDeleteI realize you and I are not going to agree much on guns. I don't see how personal guns will help any political situation. today's police, army, etc. could/would kill masses of us even if we had guns. The armaments the "government" has vastly out guns us. The important thing is to vote, vote, vote.
Yes Hitler was elected but so was George Bush and they both conned the voters. Hitler burned the Parliament buildings and blamed it on terrorists to get special powers of Chancellor just like in Star Wars. After that, he could do whatever he wanted and no one could stop him.
DeleteIf the Jewish people in Germany had guns, the Holocaust would not have happened. Yes this is one issue we will never agree on but there are many others that we do agree on.