Ethical Question

['79 Magnum GT]

Well back on topic here, years ago I saw a report on TV from NYC I think that there were some people that opened up a "gunshop" and were "selling firearms". It was just a ploy to get people to come in and make them think about firearms. They only had a few that were hanging from the wall with little tags on them. The tags said nothing about the make or caliber or anything to actually do with the gun.
All they said was that "this gun was used to kill a family of four" or this gun killed (3) school children and so on. They weren't real and obviously weren't used to kill anyone. They were all fakes. They would ask people coming in if they would be comfortable purchasing a firearm that was used to kill someone. THIS is the same thing that Rocketmedic40 is asking, in my opinion. Now would I be comfortable buying a gun that was used to kill someone? If it was a model (6.5" S&W M-24 in Nickel) I was looking for ABSOLUTLEY!!! The gun didn't kill anyone, it was the bullet!
Would I want to buy a bullet that killed someone? Like the one that did in John Lennon or was removed from President Reagan HELL NO!!! That's weird and disgusting. Would I buy a knife that gutted someone, nope. The same with any object that actually did damage to a human body. Be it an ax, baseball bat, a stuffed animal etc. Don't want it around me

ps. My memory of the afore mentioned tv report is pretty hazy after all these years. I just remember the gist of the story not all the particulars so don't quote me. If anyone has more info on this subject please post it here.

Rick

 

[Phenix]

Sort of inspired by, but not limited to, the ongoing events in the Middle East:

Would you deliberately seek to own a gun or tool surplused from an organization that (likely) committed human-rights abuses?

For example, there’s a lot of third-generation S&W semiautomatics coming back in and floating around places like Robinson Trading Post in decent shape. As a firearm, there’s nothing wrong with them, and most have been carried a lot and shot a little. But in the back of my head, I don’t know if I’m super-comfortable carrying something that was used as a facilitator for what I personally don’t agree with. For the same reasons, I haven’t picked up any German Russian-capture milsurps…as much as I love them (and I do), I don’t want them enough to buy them.

I don’t believe in ghosts or bloody nightmares, but I also don’t want Bull Connor’s nightstick or the Trapdoor from Wounded Knee in my karma…

What are your thoughts?

As for the German-Russian WW II weapon history goes, most Germans were not Nazis, and most Russians were not Communists.
On the Eastern Front, it was Nazis killing Communists and Communists killing Nazis.
Who would you have rooted for on that one?

 

[Phenix]

If it were available to me, it's already been paid for and out of the hands of 'bad' people by at least one middleman. So it's 'just' a gun. I don't go out of my way to buy from terrorists, but all I know about a lot of my guns is that they had at least one previous owner and PROBABLY not associated with a crime. I don't buy Nazi helmets or Totenkopf pins but I would love to have a Nazi era Luger, P-38 , a Gerwehr or Mauser rifle.

I have a WW I issued German steel helmet that could have been used in either of the world wars. I bought it from a classmate when I was in the 11’th grade in 1972 for $9.
Headband leather suspension system is gone, and has a pair of bullet holes from a through and through shot that have been roughly filled with body putty. Outside has been spray painted black. Classmate had no background info on it.
It has no collector value; I just bought it because I thought it was kinda cool. Don’t know when it was shot. During wartime or after it was brought back as a souvenir?
I have never felt an instant’s guilt about having it. It has sat quietly on top of my second gun safe up in my shop for years.

 

[oink]

My father brought back just 2 souvenirs from his time in the ETO in WWII, well other than the shrapnel he took with him to his final rest at Arlington. He had a German Nazi belt buckle and a Nazi helmet. The last I saw the belt buckle it was in a small junk box in the garage, rusty and of no interest to anyone. The last I saw the helmet it had three hoes in it with wire to hang it from a branch of the orchid tree with some plant growing in it. It was already rusted through in several places. I have two souvenirs my FIL brought back. One is a very decorative dagger that I think belonged to some minor German ace. The other is a P-35 Hi-Power with the tangent sights but not cut for a stock. It has all of the Nazi markings. I also have his bring back paper for it that also included a Luger. The P-35 did have the original holster but I've been unable to find it. I assume he sold off the luger somewhere along the way. I'll pass the dagger and P-35 along to my son. I have no problem owning my FIL's trophies and wish my fathers trophies hadn't turned to dust. I certainly have no love or respect for the Nazis. I'll go so far as to say we should have hung a lot more of them after the war. Japanese too.

 

[bigggbbruce]

If I could come across a famous gun, you betcha.

Anybody that buys used guns has no clue. A pristine gun in the box only has to fire one round to have history.

 

[Phenix]

My father brought back just 2 souvenirs from his time in the ETO in WWII, well other than the shrapnel he took with him to his final rest at Arlington. He had a German Nazi belt buckle and a Nazi helmet. The last I saw the belt buckle it was in a small junk box in the garage, rusty and of no interest to anyone. The last I saw the helmet it had three hoes in it with wire to hang it from a branch of the orchid tree with some plant growing in it. It was already rusted through in several places. I have two souvenirs my FIL brought back. One is a very decorative dagger that I think belonged to some minor German ace. The other is a P-35 Hi-Power with the tangent sights but not cut for a stock. It has all of the Nazi markings. I also have his bring back paper for it that also included a Luger. The P-35 did have the original holster but I've been unable to find it. I assume he sold off the luger somewhere along the way. I'll pass the dagger and P-35 along to my son. I have no problem owning my FIL's trophies and wish my fathers trophies hadn't turned to dust. I certainly have no love or respect for the Nazis. I'll go so far as to say we should have hung a lot more of them after the war. Japanese too.

Especially the Japanese.