Camden, New Jersey authorities are very proud of themselves today. It seems they busted a significant gun trafficking ring that accounted for a fair number of firearms entering their fair community.
The dealer sold more than two dozen guns illegally before being caught, and these weren’t just little 380 High Points either.
Criminals in need of a gun went to Tymere Jennings.
Law enforcement described the 35-year-old Evesham man as a “middleman” or “wholesaler” in a major gun trafficking ring that supplied firearms purchased legally in Ohio to be sold on the black market in Camden, where criminals often used them in violent crimes in the city and elsewhere.
Among the more than 30 guns the ring resold on the city’s black market were two AK-47 assault rifles, an AR-15 assault rifle and 14 handguns.
Law enforcement described it as the iron pipeline and said the successful breakup of the group and its gun supplies would likely save lives.
“We’re taking guns out of the hands of gun dealers and people who actually use them in shootings,” New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Wednesday during a news conference announcing the breakup of the ring at the Camden County Metro Police headquarters.
“Each gun that we seize or prevent from reaching the street represents countless lives saved,” Grewal said.
Now, that last sentence is accurate only in so far as it’s impossible to count an unknown.
That said, there’s an important lesson here, one that can’t be overstated.
Where there’s a market, someone will provide the product.
No matter what it is you want to deny people, folks will find a way to get it. When Prohibition went into effect, supporters rejoiced; now people would be spared from the evils of alcohol. They thought, you can’t get drunk or become an alcoholic if you can’t buy alcohol.
And then the mob stepped up and provided the product that people sought. They created speakeasies. They transported booze. They gave people exactly what they wanted.
So much for that, right?
The same thing happened with drugs. Once upon a time, people could buy that stuff over the counter. Then someone decided they shouldn’t be able to do that and Congress outlawed it. Yet somehow, people are still getting their hands on drugs.
Guns are no different. New Jersey has some strict gun laws, yet here we see that criminals still have no problem getting their hands on firearms.
That’s because there’s a market for guns. There always will be.
If someone wants a gun bad enough, they’ll do whatever it takes to get one. But when it’s illegal to get one, the law-abiding stop.
I am very interested to find out how this 19 year old was able to purchase this weapon. Therein lies the problem; not the gun or the availability but how an orphaned student with mental health issues and a violent past could go out and buy this weapon. I am anticipating finding that there is already a law in place that addresses this.
Venezuela outlawed private ownership of guns in 2012, holy cow that didnt help.
Police are now being murdered for their guns.
Glad they got 1 asshole selling guns illegally, but like the article says if a bad person wants a gun they will get a gun.
The evil young man did not have the big flags that would stop a legal purchase, not dishonorably discharged, no domestic violence on record, not a felon.
Yeah when Australia confiscated and scrapped all privatly owned guns then last year Hollywood Airhead Matt Damon was demanding all our privatley owned guns be confiscated while in Australia himself after filming his putrid movie THE GREAT WALL Screw Damon and the Jackass he rode in on
Prohibition or regulation of anything that the citizens want always makes organized crime more profitable, by driving the price of those goods up.
Criminals who want the prohibited goods then have to commit more crimes to pay for the goods.
Normally law-abiding citizens who want those goods become criminals.
Prohibition only makes crime worse, and lessens respect for the law.