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I put this under "political" since the "crime" asserted seems to be about 99% political.

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/05/ ... nk-weapon/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The headline: 13-Year-Old Among 2 Arrested On Suspicion Of Possessing Stolen Military Weapon

The crime: Three weapons were recovered, including an inert M136 AT4 “LAW” anti-tank weapon, a b.b. gun rifle and a replica 9mm hand gun, police said.

I wonder if it was this one

So, a 13 year old kid and a 43 year old man who should know better are in possession of a M136. Live or inert, it hardly explains where it was obtained, but I am missing how this is a political issue, unless you are of the mind that everyone should have such a launcher? The BB gun and toy pistol were asides without significance. Nobody appears to be in trouble for having a BB gun. Possessing an inert M136 make take some 'splaining.

It's political because they're trying to show how their little program works by using something that is in fact inert and no threat to anyone. It's the standard alarmist scare-fest. "Just look at what we're finding on our streets!"

I watched that "Gun Fight" movie on HBO last night and it was a lot of the same kind of fear-mongering. Get in front of people wave some numbers around and watch people freak out.

gdanaher wrote:So, a 13 year old kid and a 43 year old man who should know better are in possession of a M136. Live or inert, it hardly explains where it was obtained, but I am missing how this is a political issue, unless you are of the mind that everyone should have such a launcher? The BB gun and toy pistol were asides without significance. Nobody appears to be in trouble for having a BB gun. Possessing an inert M136 make take some 'splaining.

The M136 AT4 is a one shot disposable weapon. After the one shot is fired, what is left over is an inert fiberglass tube. In other words, pretty much junk. Junk means no value. Disposable means that it can be thrown away because it can not be reused. If it can't be used, it is not a weapon.

It was probably taken from some military firing range. Technically, unless it was properly disposed, it is may still be government property so it may be "stolen". But IMO, it is a stretch calling it a weapon. Maybe, not a politically motivated article, but one started and perpetuated by incompetence and stupidity.

WildBill wrote:may still be government property. But IMO, it is a stretch calling it a weapon.

Yep. And there are 2 separate stories going here. The inert launcher that got the guy/kid in trouble was seized by the cops. The media reporting it as a rocket launcher is funny, because its not. At best it is stolen govt property.

This picture is a different rocket launcher and a separate case:



This is a LA cop touting how their "gun buyback program" got this dangerous rocket launcher off the streets (ie its a different launcher then the one mentioned in the original story). Never mind its just a tube with no explosives clearly marked trainer.

The second bothers me a lot. Either this LA cop, who has the power to arrest me truly does not understand the difference between a tube marked trainer and a rocket launcher containing explosives, or he knows full well its harmless but it advances the idea that civilians have access to dangerous guns/explosives they shouldn't be allowed to have.

He is either a fool or a liar. And since he is in a position of authority, either possibility bothers me.

I'd love to have one of the trainers... The one I shot a lifetime ago used a 9mm round. I'd love to have one just to see the looks at the range when I set up to shoot on the rifle range. <G>

I'd also love a trainer. One would look great mounted in the gun room...

gdanaher wrote:So, a 13 year old kid and a 43 year old man who should know better are in possession of a M136. Live or inert, it hardly explains where it was obtained, but I am missing how this is a political issue, unless you are of the mind that everyone should have such a launcher? The BB gun and toy pistol were asides without significance. Nobody appears to be in trouble for having a BB gun. Possessing an inert M136 make take some 'splaining.

Due to a completely different topic, I ended up looking at some now-defunct California National Guard unit pages. That is, they used to be units, but were either closed down/colors cased or they got re-located. Often times, when a unit relocates, they will have a LOT of stuff to dispose of. This stuff, depending on what it is, usually gets either turned back into the supply chain or to DRMO (Defense Re-utilization and Marketing Office). DRMO sells stuff to a lot of people, including civilians. The stuff is often sold in lots with a real mixed bag of items making up any given lot. While there is absolutely no way for me to prove it, it is just as likely that the item was in a crate or box (since it was inert, not that big a deal) that got sold with a bunch of other stuff. From there, it could have been resold multiple times. I have experience in a unit move as I was involved with one overseas back in the 90s and you would not believe the amount of stuff our repair shop had to turn in...though none of it was an inert anti-armor launcher, we did have a large gaseous oxygen cylinder, in a group of about 50 such cylinders, that had USAAC (United States Army Air Corps) and the date 1942 stamped on it. The last time the cylinder had been tested for serviceability was in the late 60s. And yet it sat there in a storage room with a bunch of other stuff for almost 30 years...one inert LAW tube probably just didn't seem that big a deal to the unit that lost track of it.

snatchel wrote:I'd also love a trainer. One would look great mounted in the gun room...

This thread takes me back to my early college days (mid-70's). I graduated HS in Killeen, right next to Ft Hood. My step-father owned a wrecking yard at the time, and my older brother and I used to find lots of "interesting" stuff left over in the cars previously owned by GI's. One time, I found a bunch of blanks with the metal links to connect them all bandolier-style. My college had an upcoming "dress up day", so my next trip home (200 miles away), I brought back the blanks, and made a "bandolier" out of them. I brought them back, wore them for the event, and had no problem. After the event, I hung up in my room as decoration. Several weeks later, the RA came and said there was a report that I was storing "machine-gun ammunition" in my room. I showed him that they were 1) Originally blanks and 2) The powder had been removed from all of them. He OK'd them, but said it might be a better idea to take them back home.

Gotta be careful what you use as "decoration" around some folks.

Are they going to outlaw those cardboard carpet tubes also?

This event occurred in the Far East Los Angeles area, and as a former resident, I can assure you all that those folks aren't looking at this sort of device and saying to themselves, "hey, this is an inert and likely stolen military device. We need to return it to the proper authorities." More likely the thought is, "hey, can we get this through the front door of the liquor store and scare the heck out of the counter man before he can hit the buzzer and the cops get here?"

It is a hollow tube now. And what moron would fire an AT round inside of store while trying to rob them and expect to live?

sookandy wrote:It is a hollow tube now. And what moron would fire an AT round inside of store while trying to rob them and expect to live?

He would not think that far ahead.

sookandy wrote:It is a hollow tube now. And what moron would fire an AT round inside of store while trying to rob them and expect to live?

What moron would do that??? Are you kidding?? That part of the city is nothing BUT morons.