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Why not turn in a crooked neighbor?

    Local clergy were the “foundation” of the Schenectady program when the idea was take your gun to the pastor and he’ll turn it over to the police. It was still OK when the city said they’d pay gun owners who turned in a gun. But some clergy balked when the policy changed to, as District Attorney [Robert] Carney put it: “You can turn in your gun for $100 or run the risk that a friend will turn you in for $500” [July 22 Gazette].
    Some preachers complained that this was “immoral,” one saying that “a reward of up to $500 to turn in a neighbor (is) not the type of community I believe my Christian faith leads me to foster.”
    So, some questions: What do they find immoral? Reporting the neighbor with an illegal gun, or getting paid to do so? These clergy apparently feel an obligation to their neighbor to not report his illegal activity. What is the source of that obligation? Do they feel an obligation to all other neighbors in the community to help eliminate a threat to their safety? How do they balance these two obligations?
    Is it “immoral” to report illegal behavior? Or is it a civic duty? When is a civic duty immoral? If we witness a hitand-run or a hold-up or a murder, are we supposed to report it? Why or why not? Are there degrees of morality in reporting illegal things? Is snitching on the gal who ducks into Quiznos without feeding the parking meter more or less moral than reporting a gang member with an illegal gun that could kill someone? Does your civic duty depend on whether you are Christian or atheist or Jewish or Muslim or Humanist or Hindu or whatever? Ditto the morality of your action or inaction.
Perhaps some Gazette readers — maybe even some of the queasy clergy — will have ideas about these things to share with us.
RICHARD MCMAHAN
Glenville

Having someone turn a weapon in willingly is one thing, turning someone else into the police could get a person shot.

Will it just stop at guns? So if I gave my kid a swat on the a**, will someone turn me in for child abuse? If I throw a cigarette butt out my car window, will someone turn me in for littering? If I swear in public, will someone turn me in for public obcenity?

This is exaggerated of course, but where will the line be drawn?