Staten Island Holds Gun Buyback – But Are Streets Safer?

This past weekend, a gun buyback was held in New York’s Staten Island, where Gothamist reports that “the NYPD announced that 164 guns were surrendered.” We still maintain that these are “feel good” events and nothing more when it comes to safety.

Gothamist noted the response of DA Daniel Donavan, who commented recent shooting that resulted in the injuring and loss of an eye for a toddler who was hit by a stray bullet. This is a tragedy, but the same post also noted that antique guns were handed in. Are those really being used “on the streets,” and again where is the concern over the loss of historical items?

The news site silive.com also reported the process involved:

“The process was simple and took about 15 minutes, explained the district attorney. Someone would walk in and surrender a weapon. A police officer would safeguard it and unload it if it carried bullets. The person who disposed of the weapon was given a number that coincided with the firearm. That number was then used to match a cash card to be handed to whomever dropped off the weapon.”

As the grammar police we should stress that it should be “whoever” but that’s not the point, what is the point is that this reporter either dumbed down how guns work, or doesn’t know. Can we really trust a sentence that says, “unload it if it carried bullets.”

Finally, one comment to the silive.com story, which we could not verify, noted an interesting fact:

“Not reported in this article was the turning over an SS Officer’s 1939 Luger. I think it’s safe to assume it was worth more than $200.”

This continues to be our major beef with buybacks. These events don’t really get guns off the street while at the same time manage to attract those who might otherwise get more money for their firearms if they sold to collectors or even dealers.

Do Gun Buybacks Work Asks Examiner Writer

We already know the answer, but found it interesting that someone else is asking the question, “Do gun buyback programs work?” Melissa Linton of Buffalo True Crime Examiner asked this question following this past weekend’s gun buyback in her city.

Linton gives mixed feelings, while making some good points:

“While it may seem that the gun buyback programs are worth it when in just a few short years almost 8,000 guns have been removed from the streets, but the question still remains ‘are they working?’. It would seem that they aren’t when gun violence isn’t going down. Some researches argue that many of the guns being turned in are old, broken, or non-functioning guns, meaning the real culprits of gun violence stay on the street.

“The efforts of this year’s program in Buffalo won’t be truly seen until the end of the year when the number of homicides by gun violence is tallied. For the sake of our young people and their families lets [sic] hope that the gun buyback program works.”

We agree with her point that many of the guns turned in are broken or non-functioning, and that the “real culprits of gun violence stay on the street.” The answer to the core question is that gun buybacks simply don’t work; they are feel good events that suggest the city is doing something to combat crime. But the real guns that are the problems mostly remain on the streets and potential evidence linking criminals to crime is turned over to the police, typically with “no questions asked.”

Finally, Linton notes “old” guns. What exactly does this mean? Why is it that an old building can become a historic landmark, an old car a classic or an old baseball a treasure? Yet an old gun is just something that can be traded in for a pittance? This has long been one of the reasons we think gun buybacks are a bad idea. Valuable firearms – some that could be worth thousands of dollars – are being traded in for $10 or $20 and destroyed!

As Much as $10 for Antique Gun

WIVB offered a biased take on the gun buyback in Buffalo, and one of the choice quotes was that “antique guns” were worth $10. Apparently those handing in the guns never watched Pawn Stars or Antique Road Show!

Antique Firearms Cause Campus Scare!

How absurd have things gotten with firearms these days? Children that are suspended from school for bringing obvious toy guns on school grounds on a weekend as we recently reported is one example, but this week we heard that there was a campus-wide alter at the University of Missouri at St. Louis because a longtime professor was carrying “antique guns as props for a class lecture” reports STLtoday.com, which noted:

“Police e-mailed an alert across campus about a search for a gunman in a university building but later canceled the alert after discovering the ‘gunman’ was a professor using them for class.

“UMSL spokesman Bob Samples said a history professor getting off an elevator in Lucas Hall this morning was seen holding the two antique weapons.”

The “alert” only lasted from 11:28 am until 11:40 am, but it still makes us question whether there is simply too much fear about guns that likely weren’t being brandished in any threatening way.

Memphis Gifts for Guns Nets 160 Firearms

According to the mainstream media there are 160 less firearms in Memphis, and according to The Commercial Appeal this included some 111 handguns – with the numbers broken down to include two derringers! Really, derringers? Are riverboat gamblers and saloon prostitutes the type of criminals that need to be relieved of firearms?

In a follow up story, also from The Commercial Appeal it was sadly noted that these firearms would likely be destroyed:

“The police department will check to see if the guns have been used in crimes. Those guns will become evidence. The rest will be destroyed.”

It was noted that many of the guns were inherited, and that some were truly unique, such as one that was believed “to be a World War I Russian-made pistol.” For the record, that firearm could have been sold to a collector or donated to a museum. Instead the previous owner was given a gift care worth $100.

If someone was given $10,000 for an house that was torn down, there would be outrage. It is a shame this type of interest in history and preservation doesn’t include firearms.