CBS News Chicago Says Gun Turn-in Programs Do Little Good

Well, this time we’re going to praise the mainstream media for a change, or at least one of the three news departments in the Windy City. This weekend Chicago is holding a turn-in program – a.k.a. one of those guns for cash programs. While the local ABC news Web site merely announced the event, and the NBC station claimed that the event has taken “18,000 guns from the streets since 2005,” CBS 2 in Chicago has taken the bold step of asking if these programs do any good?

CBS 2 even has a very strong quote from a reliable source:

“Illinois Gun Works Owner Don Mastrianni claims that Chicago’s program to clear its street of guns by offering to buy them and melt them down has probably not prevented even one killing.

“‘Criminals aren’t going to bring in their guns,’ Mastrianni said.”

But the sound bites keep getting better. Police officer David Montgomery was quoted in the article, saying:

“You can always get the guns. There’s the underground market out there. What can you do about it?”

Maybe the rest of the mainstream media will get the message as well.