Are Gun Buybacks Just About “Illegal Guns?”
New York Newsday seems to suggest that a Suffolk Sheriff’s Office upcoming “Gun Buyback Program” is about “illegal guns.” That seems like either like a stretch, or is just more biased reporting. While the message is typically about “getting guns off the street” this one implies that buybacks are about illegal guns – which in turn seems to imply that all guns are illegal:
“Hand over an illegal gun, get a $50 Visa gift card.”
After all, if you legally own a gun, are you not able to take part in the Suffolk buyback? So while the intent maybe about taking guns off the street, the message is guns should be illegal. At least that’s how we read this one.
Guns for Groceries
Things have actually gotten so bad that some residents in the San Diego area would trade guns for groceries. The concern we have in these cases remains that history could be lost. As collectors, we see that these are items that can’t easily be replaced. But in nearly all these cases it is – at least according to the media and the police anyway – about getting “guns off the streets.” So it is nice to see that SignOn San Diego reported this interesting turn of events:
“Not everyone was so enthusiastic. About a half-dozen men who said they are advocates of ‘open carry’, the practice of openly and legally wear an unloaded gun, stood at the corner of Market Street. They held signs and handed out fliers that told participants in the exchange they may be getting a bad deal, but none of the men were armed.”
It would be great if other law abiding citizens also let those handing in guns know that these items are worth more than a few bucks or a bag of groceries!
Buyback Promises “One Less Gun”
Well, ’tis the season it seems. Not just for holiday shopping, but also gun buyback programs. On December 19 the “One Less Gun” buyback program will be held at three locations in Jackson, Tennessee. As we repeatedly ask, does this really get guns off the street? The problem is that the media never asks this question. Instead we get the usual reporting that doesn’t ask the hard questions. Case in point, The Jackson Sun offers this introduction:
“A new program will allow people to trade in guns for gift cards in an effort to combat illegal handgun violence in Jackson.”
Wouldn’t sweeps of crime ridden areas do a better job of combating illegal handguns? We’ll ask one more time, why would a criminal hand in an illegal gun, especially for a $100 gift card? The paper quotes Lisa Silver, executive director of the Lambuth Area Neighborhood Association, who offered this tidbit:
“Just in light of all the recent events, we felt like we had to do something to spread the word that this kind of activity is not acceptable. Our police force works so hard, but the responsibility also falls onto this community.”
So how does getting the community to sell their guns help reduce crime? There is a bright side to the story, the article notes that “each weapon will be checked to see if it’s lost or stolen, and if so, will be returned to its owner.” Let’s hope some guns go home instead of just being destroyed.
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.
Summer Recap: Top Gun Stories
So much has happened over the past couple of months that we felt it was time to do a quick recap. Here are some topics that we’d like to close the book on for good.
Gun and Ammo Sales Have Increased – OLD NEWS. This story started in the dead of winter in January as President Obama took office, picked up steam in the spring thaw and simmered all summer. Enough already.
Gun Buybacks Take Guns Off the Street – TOTAL SPIN. Have any criminals actually handed in their guns? No, more likely widows sold off extremely valuable firearms for a gift card at Costco. Gun buybacks didn’t take guns off the street, but it made for a nice photo opportunity.
Guns at Town Hall Meetings – TOTAL SPIN. No one brought a gun into a hall where the president was speaking (unless you count the Secret Service agents). Worse, the mainstream media has repeatedly claimed that people showed up with “loaded guns.” Did any reporter check the magazines to confirm?
U.S. Guns Fuel Mexican Drug War – OLD NEWS/TOTAL SPIN. Every day hundreds of illegal immigrants cross the border. Every day hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal drugs cross the border. Is this reported? No, because it is considered old news. So why does the mainstream media continue to report on the U.S. guns used in Mexico’s drug wars? And when will the media report that the numbers and statistics are totally wrong and off base? Probably not soon enough.
