[Orlin]

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

In the West Coast? In L.A? HA!

In California, you CANNOT have automatic weaponry. In a lot of places, you can't. Cali has some of the toughest gun laws in the country. Mass and New York being the other states. This, I speak from experience.

I don't personally know how bad the gun control laws are in California, but I don't doubt your word. I live in Orlando, and from what I understand it's exceptionally easy to secure a concealed weapon's permit. I had no idea that the gun control laws would be as severe as you say.

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

HA HA HA HA HA! Sorry, I couldn't help myself.

I'm not sure what's so funny. Is it the audacity that H&K would even be able to HAVE an LA Branch that makes you laugh? I can see that, I suppose. With as much gang violence as exists in LA, I think it makes things interesting. For example, what if some diabolical influence inside of the corporation was funneling out shipments to a dealer that didn't exist, with further investigations revealing that someone is fueling the rivalry between the Bloods and Cryps? Not sure if that's an accurate statement -- I know next to nothing about LA, but I know there are some darker parts of the city.

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Again, speaking from experience, just because you are ex-military DOES NOT MEAN you would have a license. If anything it puts him on their radar because he has the training and the means to use them. Trust me, I know.

This is exactly why I turned to the board for help. I have no idea what licenses a person would be issued if he or she was active military, although I am aware that people who are in the military are often trained to use powerful weaponry. If someone has the proper training to use a weapon, it means that the government has deemed that person responsible enough to carry it, maintain it and employ it on the field. In theory, that should make him less of a threat in the eyes of society than some random thug without any respect for the weapon.

Unfortunately, I'm also aware that a great many long distance serial killers have a military background.

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

To get some of the big weapons, or rather to have permission to have some of the big weapons, he would need a Class 3 gun permit. That is only given to government employees and they are almost constantly being watched by the feds. They can always be stripped of the permit.

Are these permits issued to people with active military status? Can they be retained, or are they always stripped once the person becomes a civilian?

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

Another option is a CCW (Carry Concealed Weapon) and you need express permission from the Chief of Police or the Mayor. One of our friends is going for a CCW and he has been on that for the last 6 months. He's law enforcement so he doesn't have to jump through as many hoops as your guy would.

I don't know about this. Remember, the guy is a COO of a major corporation (albeit a fictional branch) that supplies Law Enforcement and military with powerful weaponry. He may be politically connected.

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

If he has a dealer's license he would be able to have possession of guns, but what makes him think they wouldn't record who has what? They have to, otherwise it's lawsuits up the wazoo.

This is where it gets interesting. You're not the first person to mention the word "dealer's license." Now, being the president of H&K LA, would the character have a dealer's license, or would that be granted exclusively to the company? One thing I learned when looking up answers on Wikipedia (not the most reliable source, I admit) was that corporations can be granted human rights and even be charged of crimes. Can they be issued licenses?

If the corporation is granted the dealer's license, my assumption would be that the guns could only be stored in the corporate office and shipped out to local vendors, which would in turn distribute to small businesses such as local pawn shops, hunting stores, etc. If the character, by virtue of his position, possessed a dealer's license, would that entitle him to possess military grade weaponry?

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

And if someone bought 8 or 10 pistols from you, wouldn't YOU worry? And if it's an employee, how do they know he's not reselling them on the streets and making an additional profit? I used to work at a video game company and we had a limit to the number of games we can buy. Why wouldn't a weapons company?

I would absolutely be worried! But I'm not an angel of the Lord -- and from what I understand, Heckler and Koch (and Michael) aren't exactly known for their ethical practices. While H&K is a rock solid company that distributes powerful weaponry, there have been reports (again, according to Wikipedia), that they have contributed to a great deal of strife in Nepal and Bosnia. As the COO of the company, he might be responsible if there were discrepancies in the inventory, or if someone investigated and discovered that one of their vendors didn't really exist. So far, however, the character hasn't used his Songs to infiltrate the company HQ and steal any new prototypes.

But if Michael the Archangel told me "Your choir-brother, Andremalech, is in need of a submachine gun. Provide it, my blessed son, and know that you do so with my love," I wouldn't worry one bit.

Of course, if Andre made a bloody mess of some gangbangers, and Officer Rivera discovered the crime scene, or got vessel-killed while holding an H&K submachine gun that was registered to Alexander...

Well, that would be interesting indeed.

Originally Posted by ladyarcana55

He would have to pull them off the line for it to fly under their radar. Because he would have to grab them before they stamp them. Once guns are off the line they are very carefully monitored. Eventually ballistics and other forensics would point to an inside man. It wouldn't be a question of if but when.

Now, when you say "on the radar" you are, of course, referring to the police? This was another question that I wanted to raise, knowing very little about murder investigations (apart from the info provided by Criminal Minds.)

Say that I have a high powered civilian rifle. I shoot someone in the head. CSI shows up, discovers the body and retrieves the bullet -- can they then trace the bullet to my weapon, or do they simply know what "make and model" of rifle the bullet was fired from?

Thanks for the help!