One mayors solution to curbing illegal guns...

[-..__...]

suspend the offenders drivers license! :eyes:

Never mind that I think suspending a persons drivers license for unrelated charges is BS anyways, but
this idea is just plain idiotic...

With gun violence in Boston up sharply in recent years, one of Mayor Thomas M. Menino's top legislative priorities this year would strip convicted gun offenders of their right to drive for up to five years.

Menino, however, wants to take away something that very few gun offenders have, according to a Globe analysis of more than 100 gun convictions last year and state Registry of Motor Vehicles records of those offenders.

Of the 119 gun offenders convicted in Suffolk County last year whose records were reviewed, 79 have already had their driver's licenses revoked or suspended for other reasons, for offenses from selling drugs near schools to repeatedly failing to appear in court on traffic violations.

Many of those 79 have a long history of motor vehicle infractions. And 18 others are not licensed in Massachusetts for other reasons. Just 22 of the 119 have active licenses, according to the analysis.

To criminologists and others who assert Menino's proposal is political and not pragmatic, such numbers are further evidence that passage of the mayor's legislation would have little or no impact on the city's efforts to curb gun violence.

One critic, Thomas Nolan , a Boston University criminologist who was a Boston policeman for 27 years, said the legislation is out of touch with the realities of street violence.

"These kids are living in a parallel universe from the rest of us," Nolan said. "It's basically applying a middle-class standard that would probably work on kids from the 'burbs. . . . To these kids in their parallel universe, they don't think about getting their license and driving the family car."

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2007/04/23/mayors_plan_on_guns_appears_to_miss_mark/?page=1">Full article

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

1. I'm with Nolan on this

Taking a driver license away is a deterrent for law-abiding folks. Do gang members care? Would the loss of a license stop them from driving? And stop them from acquiring guns? Drugs?

[guruoo]

2. 10, 20, 30 year sentences don't stop them either -n/t

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

4. It slows them down, though

They can operate in prison, but it's mostly isolated.

Gangs will always be around, always have been.

But we could cut their profits, make them less attractive to youth. Just legalize the drugs. Let the market forces set the cost, along with some taxes added on.

[guruoo]

5. I meant, as a deterrent it doesn't stop them. - n/t

[Show_Me _The_Truth]

3. Yeah no one ever drives without a driver's license

You know, just like no one will EVER buy a gun without proper registration.

[Javaman]

6. Drive bye's will be down, but walk bye's will be up. nt