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.
Gun Owner Raided… Because Maybe He Was Selling Guns
Does anyone care about the Second Amendment anymore? WWJ radio in the Detroit area is reporting that a Warren Michigan man had his house raided by the ATF. The radio station reports:
“Over a hundred guns were discovered at a home in Warren Wednesday, thanks to a joint effort by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Explosives, the Detroit Police and Michigan State Police.”
It further adds this quote from Donald Dawkins from the ATF:
“We don’t know if he was selling them, we think he may have been selling some of them. But some of them, you know, he had a big storage there so we don’t know if he was selling all of them or not, or planned to sell them.”
First, I’m going to ask why the Detroit Police were involved in an investigation in Warren, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit? But let’s examine the quote a bit more closely: “We don’t know if he was selling them.” But that seems to be enough for the ATF to stage a raid, and for the media not to question it.
Another Church Buyback This Saturday
Yet another gun buyback will happen this Saturday in Baltimore, but at least it will offer something resembling real cold, hard cash for the guns – unlike the recent buyback in Detroit! Still, from the story in The Baltimore Sun, the amount paid is likely a fraction of what firearms are worth:
“The program offers a $100 reward for each workable automatic or semi-automatic handgun or assault rifle, and a $50 reward for any other workable gun turned in. Some of the weapons surrendered in September included rifles, shotguns and assorted handguns.”
It is a shame that these events occur. While it is true that these churches and law enforcement have good intentions, the fact is that these hardly get guns off the street, and as we’ve said before good people sell their potentially valuable firearms for a fraction of the value.
What makes this even worse is that that St. Gregory the Great is now looking for donations. This will make the buybacks bigger, but likely without solving the bigger issue of crime.
AP Spin on Detroit Gun Buyback
Even the Associated Press decided that the Detroit gun buyback was worthy news. A version of the story ran in the Battlecreek Inquirer as well as on WZZM News13′s Web site. Note this clever intro:
“Short of money and have a gun to unload? Detroit police will take the cold, hard steel off your hands for cold, hard cash.”
Filled with puns and clever writing, yes. Filled with facts, no. $20 is hardly cold, hard cash. And anyone short on money would be better served taking the gun to a pawnbroker or gun show. $20 for a firearm is just sad!
Detroit Latest City to Hold Firearms Buyback
The state of Michigan has probably been hit as hard as anywhere by the global economic crisis, a.k.a. the recession, and the city of Detroit is the latest to hold a gun buyback. The problem we see is that the buyback offers a mere $20 for each firearm. How many rare and valuable items will be essentially sold for $20 when these items could have fetched far more money for the owner?
The Detroit News ran this piece that offered this insight:
“‘Getting unwanted and unused guns out of homes can help prevent unnecessary or accidental shootings that can occur when these firearms are left unsecured,’ Police Chief Warren Evans said.”
With all due respect, is there any proof that getting “unused guns” out of a home will prevent accidental shootings? If the firearm is unused, as in not regularly taken out, doesn’t that mean that it could just as easily remain there? And wouldn’t trigger locks, and safe storage also provide accidental shootings?
The Detroit Free Press ran its own story that further offered some interesting information:
“Participants can get $20 for each gun that is turned in. There is no limit to how many guns each person can turn in; however, funds will cover only the first 75 that are turned in, police said.”
So let’s get this straight. The city only has $1500 for this program. That’s sort of a why bother? That means the most the city can hope for then is that residents show up, find out there isn’t even the $20 and will decide to simply hand over their guns for free. Incredible. Talk about the worst type of bait and switch this holiday season.
Even The Chicago Tribune weighed in on this one:
“Police Chief Warren Evans says by ‘getting unwanted and unused guns out of homes,’ accidental and unnecessary shootings can be prevented. Removing guns from city streets also is part of ongoing police enforcement efforts.”
Was it such a slow news day that The Chicago Tribune had to weigh in on a happening in Detroit? And more importantly, where did the Chicago paper get the added insight that removing guns from the streets was part of the effort by the Detroit PD? If this was the case wouldn’t the hometown papers pick up on this? Maybe the Chicago paper wanted to suggest that these buybacks are about “getting guns off the street,” something that we’ve never seen solid proof regarding, and given that Chicago has its own gun buybacks, maybe this is just a reminder to the residents. But from the words spoken by the Chief, it sounds like this is more getting guns out of the home instead.
