Another Assault on Property Rights by the Anchorage Assembly

It has been said that the road to a Very Hot Place is paved with good intentions, though in this case I doubt the good intention.  Tuesday night, 3/05, by a unanimous vote, the Anchorage Assembly made it illegal to own items without serial numbers.  You can read the ordinance here:  http://publicdocs.muni.org/sirepub/cache/0/fuckp245a2ejtheddp533wi2/95739503072019101029645.PDF

The ordinance was the brainchild of downtown Assembly Member Chris Constant, who is gleefully travelling the same path toward destruction of property rights here in Anchorage that Dick Traini did years ago when he pushed an ordinance that allowed the Muni to seize vehicles driven by DUI drivers.

Constant’s rationale for this is to somehow address the problem of stolen bikes, propane tanks, appliances, and other material showing up in pawn shops, in the homeless camps, or discarded across town.  The ordinance assumes that possession of something without a serial number is by definition possession of stolen material, which the ordinance now empowers APD to seize without compensation as evidence of a crime.  Expect APD to quickly start selling these items to raise money as they quickly fill up available storage.  Expect this Mayor and Assembly to support that effort.  https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2019/03/06/its-now-illegal-in-anchorage-to-remove-a-bicycle-serial-number/

The owner must have a bill of sale or proof of ownership of the item.  No more gifts without supportive paperwork allowed here in Anchorage.

Police or their designees are allowed to stamp new serial numbers on items after seizing them, changing the legal ownership under this ordinance without benefit of a bill of sale.  As always, it is Good to be King.

The final little gift from the Assembly is located in the end of the ordinance under 10.20.035 – Pawnbrokers – Prohibited acts.  It states the following:

Property which lacks a serial number of identification in violation of AMC 8.20.050 shall be presumed to have been stolen, embezzled or otherwise illegally obtained for the purpose of this section.

No presumption of innocence in Anchorage any more.  Think about it a while.

Under this leftist Assembly and Mayor, you are assumed guilty until you prove yourself innocent.  It will only be a matter of time before seized goods will be sold by the Muni to start funding its operations, not unlike what Chicago, Ferguson, MO and other bastions of property rights preservation do with vehicles in violation local ordinances.  And we once again are dabbling with law enforcement for fun and profit.

And to think this awful ordinance passed unanimously.  We need a new Assembly.  Keep this in mind when you vote next month.

 

Alex Gimarc lives in Anchorage since retiring from the military in 1997. His interests include science and technology, environment, energy, economics, military affairs, fishing and disabilities policies. His weekly column “Interesting Items” is a summary of news stories with substantive Alaska-themed topics. He is a small business owner and Information Technology professional.