Should the Charleston Police Keep Inventory Records of Legally Owned Guns?

The Charleston Police Department is trying to combat crime in a few unique ways, including offering monetary incentives up to $100 to information on illegal guns, as well as the usual calls for individuals to hand in unwanted guns. But the city’s police are making a step that might seem to be crossing the line. Read more

Was Charleston Gun Buyback for Safety or to get Guns Off the Street?

We report on many buyback programs and this weekend we noticed that several outlets offered conflicting facts on a Charleston program. From The Charlotte Observer:

“A South Carolina city is buying guns back with no questions asked in an effort to get the weapons off its streets. The North Charleston Police Department held its second annual gun buy back Saturday, collecting 99 handguns and assault weapons and 28 shotguns and rifles.”

Yet News4′s Web site noted it was about safety:

“‘If it will prevent an accident from happening, it will be worth it,’ August Robinson Jr. Pastor, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church.”

We already know that these buybacks neither make people safe, nor actually take guns off the street.