Detroit Buy Back Nets 400 Weapons, Even Media Asks If It Will Do Any Good
The City of Detroit has faced some hard times in recent years, and this week the police used donated funds to buy back some 400 weapons. But as Time magazine asked, “Can a Gun Buyback Program Stem Violence in Detroit?” We have to say we don’t believe it can.
Darrell Dawsey, writing for Time, questions the efforts further, saying, “I still can’t shake the feeling that this program will end up as little more than a giant symbolic placebo. Feels good to note, sure. But will it do any real good in the city’s streets. I have my doubts.”
Dawsey sees the same problems we see. Criminals don’t hand in guns, and there should be better efforts by policing than just paying a pittance to get people to clean out their closets.
Cliffview Pilot Calls out Critics of Buyback
In a heavily editorialized “news story” for the Public Safety section of the CliffviewPilot.com community news site, publisher/editor Jerry DeMarco says that “Critics of Bergen’s first gun buy-back program are off-target.” He notes complaints from critics, but yet didn’t take the time to actually talk to any, and the points he addresses are vague at best. DeMarco notes that critics suggest the programs are futile, as the “antique” guns turned in – “both from World War II” he says” serve as an example of this.
As critics of these events, we don’t believe the buybacks are futile because World War II guns – which we wouldn’t exactly label as antiques, but that just shows that DeMarco doesn’t know guns – were among those handed in. It isn’t the age of the guns to us that matters. It is the fact, in this case anyway, that these guns were doing no harm to anyone. These were veteran bring-backs and were family heirlooms. How were these guns any sort of a problem? These guns could have been easily donated to a museum instead, and the owners would have gotten a tax credit likely that was more than the $75 they were handed. Read more
Bergen County Gun Buyback Includes Potentially Valuable Guns
We hate gun buybacks. We can’t say that enough. These in all likelihood fail to actually get guns off the streets, and pay gun owners in most cases a mere fraction of what the firearm was worth. We’ve reported on these events time and time again, but this past weekend a buyback in Bergen County, New Jersey just proved our point, as two potentially valuable World War II era handguns were amongst those handed in. Read more
National Gun Collectors Association Holds Gun Buy Back
Most of the time gun buybacks sound like a bad deal. Citizens are urged to hand in “old guns” for a gift card or a pittance in cash, and too often taxpayer money is used to support these events. But WTVO 17 via MyStateLine.com reported on a quite different type of buyback.
This event was held this past weekend by a group called The National Gun Collectors Association, which claims to have been partnered with a group called The International Military Collectors Association, and instead of just handing out a gift card, the group’s spokesman actually said they have a panel of experts and connections with dealers and collectors to make offers on firearms as well as military items. Essentially this was a large “motel buy,” a common dealer type event where an individual rents a room, places an add calling for items and waits for people to come by.
While we weren’t able to find any information about either of the aforementioned groups, it is nice to see that the emphasis was on collecting, not destroying the firearms.
Do Gun Buybacks Work Asks CT Post
Finally someone in the mainstream media is asking the question that we’ve asked time and time again, and that is whether gun buyback programs and special events actually get guns off the street. In a story for the CT Post this is not only asked, but it notes that under the Bush Administration the federal gun buy-back program was ended, and replaced with the federal state Project Safe Neighborhoods. Instead of looking to pay for guns, this program concentrates on prosecuting convicted felons caught with handguns. Read more
Another Florida Gun Buyback Pays Out Pittance For Guns
The Orlando Sentinel’s story on the “Kicks 4 Guns” program in Lake County made it sound like good money was paid for handed in guns. The problem with these programs is that the message, as presented by the Sheriff’s office Lt. Art Newcombe is that “it’s about making the community safer.” Read more
Orlando to Hold “Kicks 4 Guns”
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office is using seized drug money to fund its “Kicks 4 Guns” buyback program reports The Orlando Sentinel. As with other buybacks the goal is to “get guns of the streets,” and of course the media goes along with this charade. Read more
Police to “Purchase Unwanted Firearms”
In a new program that isn’t limited to a single weekend buyback, the El Monte Police Department in the San Gabriel Valley of California has launched a program that is asking those in the community to turn in unwanted firearms and ammunition. This program, according to The San Gabriel Valley Tribune is paying a mere $50 for each gun, and will gun through September 30. Too bad many individuals will likely hand in potentially valuable items for just $50.
Gun Buyback in Tuscaloosa
Another weekend and yet another gun buyback, this one to be held in Tuscaloosa reports The Tuscaloosa News. The idea as usual is to get guns off the street, and once again we question the motives.
Police are even noting “people who turn in guns will not have to give their names or personal information and will be granted amnesty from any criminal charges that might apply from having the gun in their possession.”
Couldn’t this make it difficult to solve past crimes if the guns are handed in? Wouldn’t the efforts be better spent at trying to solve the crimes than attempting to get people to turn in a few guns? However, the paper even quotes TPD spokesman Officer Brent Blankley on the issue:
“This event is a ‘no question asked’ event. The goal of the event is to get guns off the street, not to arrest the person turning in the gun.”
What we see is that this is a pass for those who may have committed past crimes. It would be very hard to convict an individual if the police offered an amnesty for having the gun. And on top of it money will be paid to potential criminals. However, we still also question whether any criminal will hand in a handgun for $50, or an assault rifle for $100. We just don’t see it happening.
NY Daily News Thinks Buybacks Could Solve Chicago’s Crime
In responding to the SCOTUS ruling, Errol Louis of The New York Daily News offered an editorial that looked at both sides of the issue. Louis also looks at the roots of Chicago’s crime problem, noting that the city’s efforts to break up the major drug-gangs have left a free-for-all scenario in its place. This is seldom understood by the media, and hardly reported.
However, Louis believes that churches can help solve the problem, in part by offering gun buybacks:
“New York has seen churches play a key role in anti-violence initiatives. An NYPD/district attorney gun buyback program at four Bronx churches this year netted 1,200 weapons in a single weekend, and a group of Brooklyn churches this month will serve as sanctuaries for people with outstanding arrest warrants who want to surrender peacefully.”
While we don’t see any problems with church groups providing moral and even spiritual support to these communities, the idea that gun buybacks will do anything is nonsense. There is little proof that any of those 1,200 weapons netted in New York City were ever on the streets. This part of the argument is just wrong, and it is a shame because many of Louis’s other arguments were really that far off base.
