Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Bills to Require the Registration of the Buyers and Sellers of Gold and Silver Coins

First they came to register your guns, and now they want to register when you sell (and sometimes when you buy gold) gold. A bill has been introduced in Illinois, the most anti-gun state in the US, that will require the registration of the buyers and sellers of gold. Here's a key snippet (via Gary North) from the bill:
Creates the Precious Metal Purchasing Act. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall obtain a proof of ownership, create a record of the sale, and verify the identity of the seller. Provides that a person who is in the business of purchasing precious metal shall not pay for the precious metal in cash and shall record the method of payment. Requires the purchaser to keep a record of the sale for one year or, if the purchase amount is over $500, for 5 years. Provides that a person who violates the Act is guilty of a petty offense and subject to a fine not exceeding $500. Provides that the Attorney General may inspect records, investigate an alleged violation, and take action to collect civil penalties.
In Houston, a law has been passed in the city that requires any consumer selling gold to submit to fingerprints and mugshots. Infowars reports:
Last week the Houston City Council passed an ordinance requiring people who sell precious metals to be fingerprinted and photographed.  According to KTRK-TV, the ordinance is “meant to help track down criminals who try to resell stolen valuables."

"Gold-buying businesses will now be required to photograph and fingerprint sellers as well as photograph the items that are being sold to the dealer."

In other words, citizens who sell gold will be considered criminals until they demonstrate otherwise.[...]"No precious metals thief is going to agree to a mug-shot and thumbprint," said Houston City Council Member Helena Brown in response to the law.

"That’s like declaring that the thieves are going to be turning themselves in.  It’s ludicrous.  I don’t know who told HPD that this is going to help them.  It’s not going to help anyone, but rather it will be damaging to an industry and to our self-respect and liberty."

If you think these very odd bills coming up at the same time are just a coincidence, then you will think this is also a coincidence:


2 comments:

  1. Houston tried this with recycled copper and aluminum a few years back. People were stealing copper pipe and wire from construction sites and AC units from homes. and selling the metal to scrap yards.

    City of Houston passed a law that all scrap sellers had to present ID, scrap selling in the city effectively died, and the companies moved out of town.

    the city lost millions in tax revenue.

    they never learn.

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  2. All Gold sellers should be registered otherwise it is very difficult to know who is a fraud. It is a very good approach.

    ReplyDelete