Arizona court rules on cities destroying confiscated guns – By Jazz Shaw / Aug 19 2017

The NRA Institute for Legislative Action picked up a potentially important court ruling coming out of Arizona this week which has mostly flown under the media radar. Under debate is a policy in Tuscon (along with other cities and counties) which mandates the routine destruction of guns which are confiscated from criminals or surrendered during “no questions asked” gun turn-in events. Since guns are items of value, the question is raised as to whether or not they can simply destroy and dispose of them rather than offering them for legal sale to subsidize taxpayer contributions to the city’s coffers. The political appeal of destroying guns for the left is obvious, but the courts have put the breaks on the practice.

On Thursday, the Arizona Supreme Court unanimously held that the state was within its authority to prohibit cities and counties from routinely destroying firearms obtained through forfeiture or as unclaimed property. State law holds that political subdivisions must instead (subject to certain exceptions) recirculate the firearms through legitimate channels of commerce, just as they do with other types of valuable property. The case represents the latest battle in an effort dating back nearly two decades to prevent anti-gun localities from undermining the pro-gun policies of the state legislature.