Rachel is talking about the buy-back program right now. New Jersey program...

[Honeycombe8]

What I posted about yesterday that I'd read about and was thinking might be a good thing. Turns out it has started being done all over the place and is wildly successful.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10022026099#post7

New Jersey, Oakland, San Francisco, Brooklyn, other places. Can be done by anyone, even private groups.

Cities are doing the buy-back program, offering generally about $200 per gun.

You don't need to vote on it or negotiate. It doesn't take a lot of planning and can be done quickly and held anywhere.

The guns are melted down and turned into non-deadly things.

Rachel, "This seems like a place to start."

[msongs]

1. obsolete weapons traded in for $$ to buy semi-automatics. nt

[Honeycombe8]

2. Most gunners don't do that. They could sell anything.

Semis cost way more than $200. You could say that about anything.

Getting guns off the street is a good thing.

Also, the guns' serial nos. are checked to make sure they haven't been used in a crime. That way, they aren't giving $ to a possible criminal.

[X_Digger]

11. Actually, depending on the locality, there are "no questions asked"..

.. No serial numbers checked. Pflaky Pflegler ran such a "buy back" in Chicago last year or the year before.

At the time, it seemed like a great way for criminals to get rid of guns used in crime.

[kelly1mm]

3. So let me get this straight, I can go buy 5 $100 rifles and turn them in for $200 each? I can buy

non-working rifles for about $25 each and turn them in for $200 each? Are there any other requirements? Just show up, no questions asked, and walk out with the cash?

[Honeycombe8]

4. Yep. Good luck finding a $100 rifle. The cheapies cost hundreds.

The serial nos are run to make sure they weren't used in crimes.

Especially at Christmas time, this is a good way to get rid of a used gun for Christmas presents.

[kelly1mm]

5. Brand new .22 mosburg 702 plinksters at Dicks run $129 regular price, $99 on sale all the

time. Used rifles sell for less. Broken used rifles sell for less still.

[Honeycombe8]

7. Thanks for the tip! The remaining Christmas gifts are taken care of!

But seriously, hordes of people aren't going to go out selling guns to turn around and buy more. Most people who have guns have working guns.

It's like the claim that people on welfare being fraudulent deadbeats. Sure, there are some. But for the most part, the program works like it should.

The buy-back programs have been used in the past, I've read, and were successful. They did not result in more crime.

[kelly1mm]

8. I hope these programs continue and get more weapons off the street. If people have unwanted

weapons in the home this is a great way to motivate them to turn them in. I think that is GREAT!

Now, if there is a little room for some arbitrage, well, I for one have no problem with that either.

[Glassunion]

10. Question

Were the serial numbers run before or after the person turned them in? Usually these buy backs are an amnesty (no questions asked) event.

[yellerpup]

6. Buy 'em back

melt them down and turn them into bridges.

[FarCenter]

9. Only one weapon looked like an assault weapon

http://www.nj.com/camden/index.ssf/2012/12/camden_cash-for-guns_program.html

Pretty much a collection of old junk. Lots of old shotguns and rifles. Nothing a respectable gang banger would use, although all would probably kill in the right situation.

[petronius]

12. I doubt that these buybacks have any impact on violent crime, but they do seem

like a nice way to help clean out the closets and drawers of people who have guns they don't want or are unable to store safely - which may reduce the risk of accidents and child access in those households.

And while I feel bad for people who may trade a gun for less than it's really worth, I'm sure that most people actually get more than market value for that junker from the attic - and putting money into pockets in exchange for something that was just gathering dust is a good thing.

That said, I really prefer that these be done using donated funds (or at most, the proceeds from confiscation auctions), as buy-backs don't strike me as anything close to the most efficient use of public resources...

[Honeycombe8]

13. So now, in December 2012, there have been a number of successful buy-back programs.

Those municipalities have netted assault weapons, pistols, and everything in between. Very successful in getting weapons out of the public's hands.

A good way for people to get a little needed cash, too. Another poster posted that these would be guns that don't work, or people wouldn't sell them back for less than their value. The people running the programs are saying these are your regular working weapons. As for less than value, all I know is....I have a gun. I know of no one I would sell my gun to, or who would buy it, for its full value. If you take it to a gun dealer, they'll give you only a fraction of its worth (like my diamond ring I sold to a jeweler years ago...they pay very little...they have to turn it around and make a profit on it). Plus, the convenience and ease of sale is worth something. That's the way I approach things. I donate good, working items to charity all the time. If I didn't, I was prepared to sell them for very little at a garage sale. I don't have time to haggle in trying to sell one item, and I certainly can't have strangers coming to my house. So for many, it's an easy way to get some needed cash for an item they may not really need.