Maryland Pawn Shop Thief Sentenced for Stealing 34 Guns

Maryland has embraced a lot of gun control in recent years. They were never really super fond of the Second Amendment so far as I can tell, but they’ve definitely been hostile toward it of late.

That’s a shame, too, because the right to keep and bear arms is just that, a right. It’s bad news anytime a state decides the Bill of Rights is really just a list of polite suggestions at most.

But despite all the laws on the books across the nation, bad guys keep getting guns.

Anti-gunners often tell us they don’t want to ban guns, they just want to keep them out of the wrong hands. My question is, how are you going to do that when stuff like this will still happen?

A D.C. man was sentenced to 48 months in federal prison on Wednesday for his role in a Maryland pawn shop robbery that netted dozens of firearms.

The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department

23-year-old Niquan Odumn, aka “Stickz,” pleaded guilty on March 6 to conspiracy to commit theft from a firearms licensee and to possession of stolen firearms.

…

Odumn used a portable saw to cut the pull-down security gate’s lock while a second person used a crowbar to pry open the main door. After getting in, the group fled with at least 34 guns, including rifles, shotguns, and pistols.

Now, to be fair, I also think four years is too little for this kind of thing, but that’s just me.

Regardless, Odumn helped steal 34 guns that weren’t destined for the gang’s new sporting goods store. They were likely to be used for criminal purposes by criminal people.

So what laws would have stopped this group?

I mean, it’s already illegal to steal, and breaking and entering is another law on the books that they broke. Becoming an unlicensed gun dealer, which is what I figure they were trying to do here, is also illegal.

It sounds like the dealer who was victimized took all reasonable steps he could to prevent theft, so that makes me wonder just how these people think you’re going to keep guns out of criminal hands by making it harder to get a gun lawfully?

Sure, Mexico doesn’t see a lot of gun stores being robbed, but they also only have two, both of which are run by the military and are located on military bases that require a ton of paperwork to be filled out just to access the store. That’s not going to happen here. Try it, and things get sporty.

Plus, look at how well that’s worked for Mexico.

Criminals are criminals. They don’t care about the law. They’ll break in anywhere they want and steal whatever they want. That includes guns. No gun store can become a fortress. It’s just not possible to prevent break-ins by determined burglars. Ask any cop and they’ll tell you that the best you can do is be as hard of a target as possible so the bad guys will go to someone else’s house.

That means if they think it’s worth their while, and gun stores would be, they’ll still hit it if they get the chance.

But Maryland will just keep restricting the rights of law-abiding citizens.