# What are you supposed to do if you find a gun? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 25, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813 "2016-09-25T12:43:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/1 "2016-09-25T12:43:19Z")
Don’t worry, don’t need answers fast. I’m guessing it varies with state jurisdiction, but what are you supposed to do if while going about your business you see a pistol, rifle, shotgun or any other sort of firearm just lying around on the street? Obviously the answer would be “call the fucking police!” but what are you meant to do while they arrive? Is there any expectation that you should pick it up, make it safe, or are you supposed to just leave it there, wait and hope nobody else picks it up? ---
**Author:** ![Snorri\_Thorfinnsson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Snorri\_Thorfinnsson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snorri_Thorfinnsson)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/2 "2016-09-25T12:59:28Z")
I would imagine the authorities would rather you left it in situ. In this marvelous cloud cuckoo land we now find ourselves living in though you have now (after reporting it) have made yourself a suspect (whereby you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent) in the beady little brains of the local constabulary if the gun was used in a crime. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/3 "2016-09-25T13:02:38Z")
Awkward. Pick it up and you’re holding a gun, with your prints now on it. Ignore it and sidle away? Probably not illegal, but shirking responsibility. I’m guessing I’d call the police and stand there. I’d tell anyone else who approached that the cops are enroute. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/4 "2016-09-25T13:15:17Z")
Here in Taiwan, it would be national news. I sure as hell wouldn’t pick it up. Call the police and let them deal with it. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/5 "2016-09-25T13:19:35Z")
I seriously doubt that you obliged legally to do anything (unles there is a statute spcifically to the contrary in your jurisdiction), but there are many things that you may NOT do, so ignoring it is probably the only safe course of action. ---
**Author:** ![Alley\_Dweller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alley_dweller/32/430_2.png) [@Alley\_Dweller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alley_Dweller)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/6 "2016-09-25T13:19:47Z")
I would suggest that while you are on the phone talking to the police, you should ask what they want you to do. And do not touch it with your bare hands. If they tell you to touch it, find a plastic bag or something to do it with. ---
**Author:** ![Snorri\_Thorfinnsson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@Snorri\_Thorfinnsson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snorri_Thorfinnsson)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/7 "2016-09-25T13:42:43Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > I would suggest that while you are on the phone talking to the police, you should ask what they want you to do. > > And do not touch it with your bare hands. If they tell you to touch it, find a plastic bag or something to do it with. Heh - there was a guy in California whose son found a gun in their yard. The son picked it up by putting a pencil in the barrel and put it in a cardboard box. When the police came the office picked it up with his bare hands. It turned out the gun had been used in the Sharon Tate murders by Manson’s bunch of loonies. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/8 "2016-09-25T14:22:12Z")
If I found that someone had left a gun on my property, I’d use a paper towel or rag to pick it up by the barrel, secure it and call the cops. Any weapon disposed of in that way is likely to have been used for illicit purposes. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/9 "2016-09-25T15:47:36Z")
I would run like hell. Don’t want to be involved in any way. Maybe make an anonymous 911 call if I found a phone booth. Not from my cell phone, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/10 "2016-09-25T15:53:41Z")
I cannot believe how paranoid some posters in this thread are. Police are not in the habit of arresting people who call them, just to clear a case. Call the police, report the gun’s exact location, don’t touch it, wait until they arrive if at all possible. Very, very few criminals are in the habit of disposing of a gun by throwing it on the ground then telling the police where it is. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/11 "2016-09-25T16:00:56Z")
Why would you do or say anything? Why is the answer “obviously” to call the police instead of minding your own business? ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/12 "2016-09-25T16:01:05Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > I cannot believe how paranoid some posters in this thread are. Police are not in the habit of arresting people who call them, just to clear a case. Call the police, report the gun’s exact location, don’t touch it, wait until they arrive if at all possible. Very, very few criminals are in the habit of disposing of a gun by throwing it on the ground then telling the police where it is. I might get whacked by a mod for this, but: Your color may have some bearing on your response to this question and the response by the police. I know, ouch. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/13 "2016-09-25T16:03:54Z")
Yep. Call the cops and wait. It isn’t your gun and you didn’t do anything wrong, so just sit tight and wait. Unless you found the gun at a playground or the like. In that case you need to make sure kids don’t get to it. **smithsb** - I had a paragraph stating that fact that I thought better of. I’m tired of **Colibri** giving me warnings for “political jabs in GQ.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/14 "2016-09-25T16:15:27Z")
I think the police would like you to stand watch over the gun for public safety but to never touch or move it. They’ll take it from there. ---
**Author:** ![K2500](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f6c823/32.png) [@K2500](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K2500)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/15 "2016-09-25T16:16:54Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Why would you do or say anything? Why is the answer “obviously” to call the police instead of minding your own business? Why not kick into the nearest drain or pick it up take it home? Free gun! Seriously though, I’m stuck between wanting to do the responsible thing, and not wanting to be responsible for the damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/16 "2016-09-25T16:17:50Z")
> [@SigMan](#): > > I think the police would like you to stand watch over the gun for public safety but to never touch or move it. > > They’ll take it from there. And if someone decides; “Hey, free gun!”, what do you do? ETA: Ninja’d from the other side. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/17 "2016-09-25T16:39:44Z")
I guess you do nothing and hope it doesn’t come back to you. Since we don’t know the history of the gun it could be nothing or a world of problems for you. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/18 "2016-09-25T16:40:09Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Why would you do or say anything? Why is the answer “obviously” to call the police instead of minding your own business? Because it is a threat to public safety, which police are supposed to protect? Glad it’s not just me that thought it’s a bit of a no-win situation, between leaving it in situ where some anyone could grab it while you wait for the po-po or picking it up and getting your stinking DNA all over it. Over here in the UK the local police often have ‘gun amnesties’ where you can hand in a firearm to a police station no questions asked, but I’ve got a feeling it would be a bad idea to walk into a police station with a gun which may be loaded and have been used in the commission of a felony. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/19 "2016-09-25T16:42:48Z")
> [@Snorri\_Thorfinnsson](#): > > In this marvelous cloud cuckoo land we now find ourselves living in though you have now (after reporting it) have made yourself a suspect (whereby you are guilty until you prove yourself innocent) in the beady little brains of the local constabulary if the gun was used in a crime. > [@smithsb](#): > > I might get whacked by a mod for this, but: > Your color may have some bearing on your response to this question and the response by the police. > > I know, ouch. **Moderator Note** Let’s refrain from political commentary in General Questions (especially if you already know it’s against the rules. I’m looking at you **smithsb** :dubious:). No warnings issued, but stick to the question in the OP. > [@silenus](#): > > **smithsb** - I had a paragraph stating that fact that I thought better of. I’m tired of **Colibri** giving me warnings for “political jabs in GQ.” 😃 Thank you. If only some other posters were as capable as you are of learning from experience.😃 Colibri General Questions Moderator ---
**Author:** ![SigMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@SigMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SigMan)\ **Post date:** [September 25, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813/20 "2016-09-25T16:44:04Z")
Right, it could be a ditched gun. I still think the police will really appreciate you watching over it so they can retrieve it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-you-supposed-to-do-if-you-find-a-gun/766813.md?page=2)