Progressive Wednesday

Buying back Buffalo’s blasters

June 5th, 2007 by Eric

Last Saturday morning, there were hundreds of people standing outside a church in Buffalo, New York. They were not waiting for service to start. In fact, they were all holding guns; many were holding several of them. Before you get too upset, they were participating in a gun buyback program sponsored by the Buffalo Police Department.

The program was done simply to get some guns off of the street. Were they successful? Well, according to the Buffalo News:

By the end of the day, city officials who organized the “No Questions Asked” Gun Buyback Program, recovered more than 800 guns and paid out $42,490 in the form of cash cards to 422 residents — many of them surrendering more than one firearm.

One man even pulled in almost a thousand smackers when he turned in his nine weapons.

I know what you’re thinking; most of those guns were probably inoperable and not very likely to be used in crimes. Well, some were, but most were not. According to the News, the police:

estimated that of the 800- plus guns, about 100 were inoperable, while most of the rest were high-quality weapons, including 9 mm handguns, sawed-off shotguns, AK-47s, SKS rifles and others that are the frequent choice of street criminals.

I’m no hunter, but I don’t think too many people use 9 mm handguns or Angel Kings to”control” the deer population. At best it got guns off the streets that would have been used in violent crimes. At worst it got guns out of homes where there was potential for tragic accidents. Don’t tell me those don�t happen. All in all, violent crimes are down 26% in the city compared to last year, while homicides are down 33%. I’m not suggesting that this was because of the buyback program, but it is a reflection of policy.

And, no, the program didn’t cost taxpayers the $43,000 it paid out.

Funds for Saturday’s buyback were provided, in part, with $30,000 in assets forfeited through seizures from drug probes and other crimes. Erie County Medical Center also has donated $10,000, and an additional donation was anonymously made.

These programs are run all over the country with great success. So if you have a weapon that you’d like to “adios,”check to see if there are any in your area. It’s a great way to fight crime and make a few bucks at the same time.

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