That’s a law?
Headline says out of town gold buyer charged with not following. You have to go to the fifth paragraph to see what the charges are:
He is accused of leaving town without keeping the items he purchased in Oak Ridge in a safe on the hotel premises for 30 days as required by state law.
Dennis is also charged with not submitting to police a detailed list of gold and other items he bought on his last day in Oak Ridge.
Those are some pretty stupid laws. But, hey, someone stepped up to defend them:
Officials said the laws governing gold purchases are an effort to help law-enforcement investigations in instances where gold and other precious items have been stolen.
Which officials? We need to know who the dumb ones are.
May 13th, 2011 at 12:35 pm
I would be interested in reading the actual law… Seems kind of stupid
May 13th, 2011 at 12:45 pm
Sounds more like a law to track the sale and movement of gold rather than help the police. Will have to be careful buying gold in tennessee seems you guys live in a commie state when it comes to gold purchases.
May 13th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Written with the presumption that some portion of gold tendered for sale has been stolen, and the cops want the fence to do their investigative work for them.
May 13th, 2011 at 1:21 pm
That one’s going to be an interesting court case, if the DA doesn’t decide to drop it. I suspect the commerce clause forbids this for an out-of-state buyer.
May 13th, 2011 at 1:52 pm
Antediluvian anti-peddler statutes written against Jews.
I cannot believe they are prosecuting this.
May 13th, 2011 at 2:39 pm
there’s a DA and some police that need to be dealt with in this story.
May 13th, 2011 at 4:01 pm
Check out the laws regarding pawn shops. This law isn’t unusual at all.
May 13th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
Yup – standard pawning law.
May 13th, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Funny how this only came about because some local was whining about the competition. What’s the matter, the “Carpet Bagger” was paying more than you were? Couldn’t rip off the local Grannies trying to get some cash? And I don’t think keeping Gold in a Safe for 30 days will dramatically reduce it’s Kitco Spot Price much, since it’s climbing through the roof!
May 14th, 2011 at 1:48 am
Most of the gold sold in such a fashion is stolen … but non-unique jewelry ain’t serial numbered.
Yes, this law is silly. But this type of anti-fence law is very common, almost boilerplate.
May 14th, 2011 at 1:48 am
It is also circumvented by a thief by using those cut-rate “mail us your gold” services.
May 14th, 2011 at 1:53 am
So, does that mean you have to “clear customs” before leaving Oak Ridge TN with gold?
May 14th, 2011 at 7:23 am
“Everyone will wear clean underwear. Underwear will be worn on the outside so that it can be checked.”
May 14th, 2011 at 8:18 pm
Meridian, Idaho currently exempts precious metals from their paw law. They are trying to pass a law that requires all precious metal purchases to be photographed by the purchasing dealer, held for 30 days, and submitted to the leadsonline.com database with personal details about the seller. It was amusing listening to the Meridian police chief suggest that the dealers shouldn’t object to the photography requirement because the cameras where “free” since the city would provide them. I presume the irony is lost on him.
Deal in gold or silver these days and you are already presumed guilty.
May 14th, 2011 at 8:43 pm
One pass through Y-12, and it should be traceable anywhere, at least for 4.47 billion years. Take the long view on this.
May 15th, 2011 at 5:14 pm
Did that hick-ass pile of corruption actually say “carpetbaggers”?
Holy shit.
May 15th, 2011 at 9:01 pm
The basic definition of a police state is a state run for the convenience of the police.
Just sayin’.